Throne of Eldraine Limited Ratings

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Acclaimed Contender

AI Rating: 4.6
Pro Rating: 3.0

A 3-mana 3/3 is solid in most formats, and this comes with significant upside. It does ask for your deck to have a reasonable number of Knights, Equipments, Auras, and Legendary Artifacts, but having around 5 of those will happen without even trying, and more than that won’t be unusual. In other words, this will be drawing you a card often enough that it is a pretty nice card.

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All That Glitters

AI Rating: 3.2
Pro Rating: 1.0

The UW deck in this format is focused on having artifacts and enchantments which is nice and all, but this doesn’t seem like the payoff you want. It has the downside of most auras, in that it opens you up to a bad 2-for-1, and in addition to that, it isn’t going to be very good in the early game, even if you ARE an artifact/enchantment deck. Sometimes Auras that are ultra aggressive early can be good, because they make your creature do so much extra damage that it doesn’t matter when you get 2-for-1’d. This won’t be one of those most of the time.

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Archon of Absolution

AI Rating: 4.1
Pro Rating: 3.5

A 4-mana 3/2 with Flying is already a decent rate and a fine playable, but this comes protection from White, and a Ghostly Prison type effect, both of which raise the power level here significantly. The prison effect can make it very hard for your opponent to continue to develop their board AND attack, so you start making them have to choose one or the other, and that’s a great way to get ahead. Meanwhile, it is immune to 20% of the cards in the set, give or take, and that’s pretty nice too.

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Ardenvale Paladin

AI Rating: 1.5
Pro Rating: 2.0

Honestly a 4-mana ⅖ does pretty well on the Vanilla test, and will be capable of blocking the vast majority of the creatures in this format and surviving. If you throw in Adamant, which will give you a 4-mana 3/6 a decent chunk of the time -- or, you know -- all the time, if you happen to be in mono-white -- and you have a much more attractive card.

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Ardenvale Tactician

AI Rating: 3.7
Pro Rating: 3.0

If Ardenvale Tactician was only the Adventure part of the card it would be kind of a passable card for a really aggressive deck. Taking away the ability to both attack and block for a whole round has its uses. Then, we look at the creature half – 3 mana for a 2/3 with flying is pretty nice. That’s just above rate for more list Limited formats. Then when we put it all together – a total investment of 5 mana to tap a couple things down and play a 2/3 flyer seems nice. Then, you factor in the flexibility – that it can come into play as a creature without going on an Adventure – and sometimes you’ll certainly want to do that – for example if you’re just trying to curve out – and I think we’re looking at a pretty good Common.

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Bartered Cow

AI Rating: 0.9
Pro Rating: 1.0

4-mana 3/3s are not very good, so how much should we value the fact that this can give you Food? I mean, it is a little valuable, especially because there are food payoffs. It is also interesting that you can discard this and still get Food. I think those two things combined make this better – but you’ll still almost never play this.

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Beloved Princess

AI Rating: 1.4
Pro Rating: 1.5

A one mana 1/1 with lifelink that is kind of evasive doesn’t really do it for me. Sure, big creatures can’t block it, but it is small and dies to basically any blocker. And if you pump her things might get interesting, but mostly it doesn’t seem worth it.

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Charming Prince

AI Rating: 4.7
Pro Rating: 3.5

One of these effects will always be useful, they’re all pretty good in the right situation. It is still just a 2 mana 2/2, but one that lets you smooth out your draws, gains you some life, or lets you blink a creature for some value is pretty nice.

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The Circle of Loyalty

AI Rating: -0
Pro Rating: 4.0

A 6 mana anthem effect isn’t the greatest deal, but permanents who pump your whole board are not to be underestimated – in any creature based deck that is a very real effect, and one that most of the time is going to impact the board immediately. In addition to that, it is a nice mana sink that allows you to produce a Knight every turn. There are legendary spells at uncommon in this format, and that means getting a Knight from the legendary part of the card isn’t a pipe dream. But yeah, with the cost reduction part, even one knight being in play makes this substantially better. I think this falls a little short of bomb status, but not by much.

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Deafening Silence

AI Rating: 1.5
Pro Rating: 0.0.

This is unplayable, because it was printed to be a sideboard card in constructed formats. Most opponents just won’t have enough non-creature spells for this to do anything relevant.

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Faerie Guidemother

AI Rating: 3.2
Pro Rating: 3.5

The Adventure side of this lets you get in for some damage in the air, something that can be pretty nice early, and something that can close out games late. Then, it can come down as a 1/1 flyer itself. The whole package here ends up being pretty good in aggro decks.

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Flutterfox

AI Rating: 2.9
Pro Rating: 3.0

This is a nice two drop. 2-mana 2/2s are nothing special these days, but the fact that this can gain flying -- and do it relatively easily in this format -- makes it a two drop that is relevant all game long.

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Fortifying Provisions

AI Rating: 1.1
Pro Rating: 1.0

Adding toughness to your creatures is a lot worse than adding power in most cases, and also getting Food out of the deal doesn’t make this seem any better to me. It is nice that it us a card that gives you both an artifact and enchantment, making it a bit more interesting in a UW deck that cares about having both of those in play.

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Giant Killer

AI Rating: 4.1
Pro Rating: 4.0

The Adventure side here is the kind of White removal spell we see in most sets – capable of killing big creatures only, and the creature side is basically Master Decoy. Stapling those two things together is pretty great. I do think a lot of the time you’ll just play this on turn one if you have it, but the idea of killing a big guy and then bringing your Giant Killer to the board, where it can proceed to shut down your opponent’s best creature, is pretty awesome – and that will happen often enough with this. It is also nice to be able to play an effect like Chop Down in your main board, which you just can’t always do.

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Glass Casket

AI Rating: 3.9
Pro Rating: 3.5

Sure, it only kills smaller guys, but that’s fine because it does it so efficiently. This is in the lower range of premium removal.

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Happily Ever After

AI Rating: 4.1
Pro Rating: 0.0

This is unplayable. Pulling off a win condition with these many requirements is pretty much impossible outside of constructed, and being 3 mana for both players to gain 5 and draw a card doesn’t really seem worth it to me.

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Harmonious Archon

AI Rating: 4.6
Pro Rating: 4.5

This costs 6 mana and gives you 10 power, 4 of which has Flying. And that is certainly true. Sometimes it will play even better than that -- if you have a bunch of creatures in play. Other times it will play worse -- if your opponent has a bunch of creatures i play. I think you will be ahead enough of the time when you play this -- since it is one card that gives you 3 pretty sizable bodies -- that it will feel like a bomb most of the time.

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Hushbringer

AI Rating: 4.5
Pro Rating: 2.5

So, a two mana ½ with flying and Lifelink is pretty solid. It isn’t anything special, but you would play it in a lot of decks. Then you add the rest of the text and what do you get? Well, you actually get a pretty powerful effect. The problem is that it is symmetrical, and your deck will likely be affected by it just as much. But if you can have it in play to nerf a few of your opponent’s cards, that’s going to feel pretty good. I think the symmetry of it makes it kind of a wash though.

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Knight of the Keep

AI Rating: 1.2
Pro Rating: 1.0

A vanilla 3 mana 3/2 just isn’t really what you want to be doing. There are just so many better things you can do with 3 mana. You’ll only play it begrudgingly, if you need a 3 drop, or more knights in your deck, or you are way too short on creatures in your deck.

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Linden, the Steadfast Queen

AI Rating: 4.7
Pro Rating: 3.0

A vanilla 3 mana 3/2 just isn’t really what you want to be doing. There are just so many better things you can do with 3 mana. You’ll only play it begrudgingly, if you need a 3 drop, or more knights in your deck, or you are way too short on creatures in your deck.

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Lonesome Unicorn

AI Rating: 2.6
Pro Rating: 3.0

Neither half of this card is particularly efficient. A sorcery that was 3 mana for a 2/2 token with Vigilance isn’t something you’d play and neither, and a 5-mana 3/3 with Vigilance.. BUT -- this card can do both of those things, and that’s the beauty of Adventures. Becuase it can make both of those things happen, and that can allow for a 2-for-1 without too much effort. Ideally you want to be doing both halves of this, and sometimes you will just need to cast the 3/3 Unicorn, which won’t feel too good, but I still think this is a really nice common for White.

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Mysterious Pathlighter

AI Rating: 3.8
Pro Rating: 3.5

So, this is a Wind Drake with serious upside. The Adventure payoff here is incredibly strong, and even if you get one +1/+1 counter out of this – and that will probably be close to the average – you are really coming out ahead mana-wise. Making all creatures with Adventures permanently larger is very powerful, and that makes the Pathligher the kind of uncommon that can completely alter the game. As we’v eseen, running cards with Adventure isn’t going to be difficult in White, and I would imagine you get 4+ ways to go on Adventures in the format without too much trouble, and that’s definitely enough for this to be a powerful card. Obviously it gets better the more Adventuring you do.

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Outflank

AI Rating: 2.4
Pro Rating: 2.5

This is a very conditional removal spell. Not only does the creature have to be attacking or blocking, you also have to have enough creatures in play to kill it. That will not always be a possibility. This can also be interfered with relatively easily, namely by killing one of your creatures, so that the damage this does drops to the point it doesn’t kill your target anymore And sure, it does only cost a single White mana, and it will probably feel nice when you’re the beat down, but with all the conditions it requires, it isn’t the kind of removal spell you take very early at all.

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Prized Griffin

AI Rating: 1.8
Pro Rating: 2.5

5-mana ¾ flyers have played pretty well lately. Obviously it isn’t a great rate for those stats, but we have seen several of these lately, and they have always been reasonable 5-drops.

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Rally for the Throne

AI Rating: 1.9
Pro Rating: 2.5

So, if you can’t get to Adamant with this, you’re paying one extra mana for Raise the Alarm. But honestly, as a fail case, that isn’t too bad. Raise the Alarm is usually one of White’s best commons when we see it, and I think if we ignored Adamant on this card, you’d still play this sometimes if you’re really interested in going white. Being an Instant is always nice on stuff like this too, because it can let you surprise your opponent by suddenly being able to block or trade with stuff.

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Realm-Cloaked Giant

AI Rating: 4.8
Pro Rating: 5.0

Having one card that wraths, and then is a 7-mana 7/7 a few turns later is pretty amazing – it is sort of like guaranteeing when you cast a Wrath, that you’ll be hitting a creature that will help reload your board. It isn’t THAT far from being a 5-mana wrath that puts a 7/7 into play in two turns, and that’s pretty awesome. A 7-mana 7/7 with Vigilance is certainly not an incredible card on its own. But after a Wrath? It is almost guaranteed to be the most intimdating thing on the board. Wraths aren’t good in every deck usually, but I think this one can be good in any deck – especially because if you end up in a situation where you don’t really want to Wrath, you still have your Realm-Cloaked Giant – it doesn’t stay in your hand while you wait for an opportunity that makes sense, it gives you a creature. This is a big ol’ bomb.

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Righteousness

AI Rating: 2.1
Pro Rating: 0.5

I think a lot of people will see the one mana for +7/+7 here and overrate this. That is indeed a huge stats boost, but the fact that it only works on blocked creatures is a huge limitation. Combat tricks are usually used the most by aggressive players, this one wants you to be defensive. I think I’m going to avoid playing this most of the time, just because you can’t guarantee it will always be useful – there are plenty of games where being defensive never really makes sense.

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Shepherd of the Flock

AI Rating: 3.7
Pro Rating: 3.0

A two-mana 3/1 is usually alright, and this comes with some additional value thanks to the Adventure half. This isn’t a card where the Adventure half will always become useful at some point in the game -- and most of the time this will just be a two mana 3/1. But, there is some real upside in returning your own stuff to your hand. There’s the usual stuff -- getting rid of your opponent’s aura-based removal, doing it in response to a removal spell, and abusing ETB abilities. But, in this set, you can also use it to get another use out of an Adventure, and all of that together seems like solid upside to me.

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Shining Armor

AI Rating: 0.9
Pro Rating: 1.5

This is an equipment with Flash that attaches itself to Knights for free when it comes down, but the bonus it gives isn’t anything special. Good combat tricks pump your creatures power, so that it can take down creatures in combat it couldn’t before – this one doesn’t. And sure, it does stick around and give your guy Vigilance, and that’s ok I guess – but once you have to start paying 3 mana to put this on stuff, it is really going to hurt.

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Silverflame Ritual

AI Rating: 1.8
Pro Rating: 1.5

If you have like 6 White cards in your deck, you’re not going to be getting the adamant part here. That said, this card on its own, without Adamant would already be kind of playable. Sure, you need some set up, and you have to be going wide, but that seems doable in this set. Giving Vigilance with Adamant is very real upside, because it means that you can attack with everyone, and still leave blockers behind – turns like that can really turn the tide in games. But yeah, it is a little clunky at 4 mana, and it won’t always be giving your guys Vigilance unless you’re mono-colored.

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Silverflame Squire

AI Rating: 2.4
Pro Rating: 3.5

All of these adventure creatures with a trick on one side and a reasonably costed creature on the other are pretty darn good. You can use the trick half to help a creature win combat, and then play the creature side on a later turn, which can get you a 2-for-1 in many cases.

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Syr Alin, the Lion's Claw

AI Rating: 4.4
Pro Rating: 4.0

A 5-mana 4/4 with First Strike is already a reasonable stat line, then, when you add the ability to pump your whole board when he attacks and you have a very powerful uncommon here. Also, thanks to First Strike, taking him down in combat won’t be easy, and he may get the chance to swing more than once, which is bad news for your opponent.

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Trapped in the Tower

AI Rating: 3.4
Pro Rating: 4.0

It is a little annoying that this can’t hit flyers, but the fact that it both Pacifies and Arrests a ground creature helps me get over that. This is premium removal.

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True Love's Kiss

AI Rating: 1.4
Pro Rating: 1.0

This set has enough targets for this that you can main deck it sometimes. It gives you a 2-for-1 when you have a target, which is pretty nice. It is probably still better out of your sideboard, though.

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Venerable Knight

AI Rating: 3.2
Pro Rating: 2.5

A one mana 2/1 with some upside is nice, mostly because it can trade up with lots of creatures, even those with mana costs of 3 or 4, and it attacks really well early. This comes with some additional value too, since it can put a +1/+1 counter on another Knight when it dies. That’s a pretty solid package.

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Worthy Knight

AI Rating: 4.7
Pro Rating: 4.0

So, this is sort of a build around in that it gets better the more knights you have – but if you are playing White, you’re going to end up with enough Knights for this to be quite good, and if you end up in any of the Mardu colors, it will be even easier to get knights. A two mana 2/2 with serious upside is pretty awesome, as this can really change games even by just getting a couple of tokens out of it.

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Youthful Knight

AI Rating: 3.3
Pro Rating: 3.0

Two mana 2/1 first strikers tend to play really well in aggressive decks -- but they really aren’t bad in less aggressive ones, as they are great blockers against smaller creatures. There is a lot of Equipment in this set too, and obviously it plays well with a creature with first strike. Definitely matters that this has a useful creature type too!

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Animating Faerie

AI Rating: 3.2
Pro Rating: 3.5

Wind Drake is usually pretty decent in most formats, and that’s what you get when you cast the creature side of ithis Obviously though, the Adventure part adds some significant upside. You are going to need artifacts in your deck to make this be at its best, but that won’t be all that hard thanks to Food. Three mana to make a food token into a 4/4 is pretty nice, especially because if you go that route, you also have the Wind Drake part of the card to cast on a future turn. This card is nice because you can take it and you know you’ll play it, even if you have 0 artifacts, and if you do end up with them, it gets some nice additional value.

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Brazen Borrower

AI Rating: 5
Pro Rating: 4.0

You know these Adventure cards are really good when you can split up each side of the card, and if it were JUST that card, it would still be pretty decent or better, and that’s what we have here. Two mana to bounce an opponent’s nonland permanent is a card that always see play -- it is great for tempo, and great to use in response to Auras or combat tricks or other shenanigans. The other side of the card is also a reasonable card -- very nice aggressive stats for a flyer. Then, you put the two together, and you effectively have a 5-mana 3/1 with Flying and Flash that bounces something when it comes down -- that would be a great card, and in some ways, this is even better than that because of flexibility!

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Charmed Sleep

AI Rating: 3.1
Pro Rating: 3.0

This is a nice removal spell for Blue decks. This has all the problems Aura-based removal tends to have of course -- bounce spells and sacrifice effects make it look pretty bad, and it doesn’t turn off static abilities.

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Corridor Monitor

AI Rating: 1.8
Pro Rating: 1.5

A two mana ¼ blocks fairly well early, and this one lets you untap a dude or artifact when you play it, which is some ok upside. However, it isn’t exactly impactful – even in the late game untapping something doesn’t always come with significant value.

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Didn't Say Please

AI Rating: 2.9
Pro Rating: 1.5

I’m never a big fan of Cancel variants, unless they bring something big to the table. The good news for Didn’t Say Please is that there is a legit mill deck in this format, so its effect is actually kind of useful. The problem with a 3 mana counter spell is that you find yourself having to leave up a considerably percentage of your mana to be able to use it. I think sometimes people make the mistake of thinking of a counterspell like a removal spell, but in a lot of ways, they are worse, at least in Limited. This is because you have a smaller window to use this card where it will actually get rid of something -- you HAVE to have the mana up when they play whatever it is you want to get rid of. With removal spells, it doesn’t matter when you cast it, so you have a much wider window to use them. This means that top-decking removal tends to be way better, for example. You’ll play this in your controlling mill decks, but not anywhere else.

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Emry, Lurker of the Loch

AI Rating: 4.6
Pro Rating: 0.0 // 3.0

If your deck has 0 artifacts in it, and 0 ways of taking advantage of cards going in your graveyard, she is unplayable. However, if your deck has a few artifacts in it -- like even just 3 -- she gets to be interesting, because straight up casting artifacts from your graveyard is no joke -- that is a very powerful effect that can win you games straight up if you have enough artifacts. This set does have a decent number of artifacts, so getting 3 or so isn’t anything crazy.

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Fae of Wishes

AI Rating: 4.7
Pro Rating: 2.5

This is mostly a two mana ¼ with Flying which is some pretty nice stats on the French Vanilla test. And yes, this has some other uses -- but they aren’t going to come up in Limited very often. Keep in mind that this sort “wish” effect at sanctioned tournaments means you only get to get something from your sideboard, and Limited sideboards aren’t exactly filled with amazing cards. Sometimes it will work out for you, maybe on Bo1 on Arena it means you can actually take cards that you don’t want to mainboard. The return to your hand part is cute, with the idea being it can Adventure again, but you’re not going to want to do that in Limited in most cases.

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Faerie Vandal

AI Rating: 3.9
Pro Rating: 3.0

A two mana ½ with Flash and Flying is already kind of alright, because it can come down and kill 1/1s and survive, and flashing in to kill X/1s in general isn’t always a bad idea. The Vandal needs you to be drawing a lot of cards though to really get there, and most Blue decks will have enough ways to do that for Faerie Vandal to become a real threat.

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Folio of Fancies

AI Rating: 4.8
Pro Rating: 3.5

This card is incredibly swingy. If you get it down on turn two and then just use its mill ability the rest of the game, you probably win in a few turns, and that’s some serious upside! But, getting it late is pretty painful, and it won’t have nearly the same usefulness. Still, there is a legit mill deck in this format, so even though it might become a little less impressive late, in those decks it still does something useful all game long.

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Frogify

AI Rating: 2.8
Pro Rating: 2.5

This kind of removal is nice because it blanks a creature, and sometimes that is just better than more traditional removal – but the fact that they still get to have a creature who can block after you play this is obnoxious, and that’s what keeps this from being premium removal.

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Gadwick, the Wizened

AI Rating: 4.2
Pro Rating: 4.0

I like creatures that draw me cards, and this one scales as the game goes on. Granted, it has a difficult mana cost – but that’s probably ok here, you don’t have to play this early for it to be at its best – you can just wait until you get your Blue mana and draw a bunch of cards. Plus, this format does have some serious incentives for mono-colored anyway.

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Hypnotic Sprite

AI Rating: 3.9
Pro Rating: 3.5

I’m not normally a big counterspell fan, just because they are easy to play around, and if your opponent does that it can be pretty devastating. This counterspell can only stop cheap spells, which means you aren’t really going to be coming out mana-wise with it. But that’s probably ok – you can have this in your deck, and you can cast the counterspell half of it if the opportunity appears, and you can also just play a two mana 2/1 flyer if that is what you need to be doing on turn 2. That flexibility means that this is a counterspell I will actually play – but yeah, I’m not going to be shy about just casting it as a creature and never using the counter.

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Into the Story

AI Rating: 3.1
Pro Rating: 1.0 // 3.0

So, is 7 mana to draw 4 at Instant speed playable? Honestly – it probably is in really controlling decks. It isn’t the most efficient thing ever, but drawing 4 cards with one card is a pretty real way to win a game. Obviously it will be horrible in and against aggressive decks. In the mill decks this can legit cost 4, and when you do that it will feel really good.

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The Magic Mirror

AI Rating: 1.1
Pro Rating: 2.0

This card is worse than it looks. Drawing a lot of cards sounds nice, and it is – but if you can’t win the game in a hurry, you’ll quickly find your own Magic Mirror milling you out. It is almost TOO GOOD at drawing cards, which is not something I ever thought I would say.

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Mantle of Tides

AI Rating: 1
Pro Rating: 1.0

I don’t think I like this very much. Sure, equipping it to stuff for free, especially at Instant speed seems nice. But that “ideal” situation isn’t going to come up as often as we would like – you need to have creatures of the right size, and instant speed ways to draw an extra card.

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Merfolk Secretkeeper

AI Rating: 3.3
Pro Rating: 3.0

This is a key Common in this set, and it really enables mill strategies. The adventure mills a hefty 4 cards, and the creature itself can come down and block and protect you. If you can get multiple secretkeepers, you are in business – especially if you also have bounce to use them repeatedly. It is a weird card, though, in the sense that it is pretty terrible everywhere else. Still, value these highly early, as they can be a very real path to victory.

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Midnight Clock

AI Rating: 4.9
Pro Rating: 3.0

So this gets a counter every single upkeep, and if the game goes long enough lets you completely reload your hand, at which point you probably win. Of course, that takes a pretty darn long time. The fact that it is a mana rock in the mean time, AND the fact that you can actually use mana that it produces to add more counters to it is pretty nice too. I think more controlling decks in the format will actually be happy to play this. It certainly won’t be for every deck, though, so keep that in mind.

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Mirrormade

AI Rating: 4.5
Pro Rating: 2.5

I think there are enough artifacts and enchantments in this set, that you can reliably do something with Mirrormade – whether it is copying one of yours or your opponents, as long as you are copy a real card with it – like a removal spell or Aura – and not Food – you’re going to feel like you’re getting a decent deal.

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Mistford River Turtle

AI Rating: 1.1
Pro Rating: 1.0

This guy has mediocre stats and a mediocre ability. Even as a 1/5, you’ll find it hard to want to attack with this just to make something else you have unblockable. Sometimes it works out, but it is actually a pretty real cost to have to attack with the Turtle too, especially if they can just block it with three 2/2s.

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Moonlit Scavengers

AI Rating: 2.2
Pro Rating: 2.5

I am always a fan of Man-O’-Wars, and this is a pretty beefy one. Bouncing opponent’s creatures with your own creature tends to feel pretty great in Limited, because you simultaneously add to your board while taking something away from your opponent. This does have some hoops to jump through to make that happen – but it isn’t that difficult on turn 6 to have an Artifact or Enchantment in this format. I mean, sure, if your deck has very little in the way of those types of permanents, you can’t really play this – but keep in mind Food counts towards that.

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Mystical Dispute

AI Rating: 2.2
Pro Rating: 1.5

A 3-mana Mana Leak is close to unplayable in Limited. Having to leave up 3 mana for a counterspell is a big ask, especially when your counter isn’t a hard counter. The later the game goes, the weaker something like this gets, and it is way easier to play around this type of counterspell than a hard counter. Still, I think you can get away with mainboarding this, because a one-mana Mana Leak is pretty solid, and that’s what it will be sometimes. I think in an ideal world it starts in your sideboard, though.

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Opt

AI Rating: 2.5
Pro Rating: 2.0

Opt is pretty much the definition of a fine but easily cuttable Limited card. It gives you some card selection, but doesn’t impact the board or give you card advantage. This set doesn’t really have a spell theme, or it would be a little better.

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Overwhelmed Apprentice

AI Rating: 3.3
Pro Rating: 2.5

This sort of reminds me of Thraben Inspector, in that it is a one mana ½ that brings considerably additional value. It smooths out your draws and also mills your opponent, and that feels pretty good all game long.

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Queen of Ice

AI Rating: 2.8
Pro Rating: 2.5

This is no Frost Lynx, but it can do a pretty good impression. Like with all ADventures, you have lots of different ways you can use this. You can cast each half on separate turns, or -- if you get it later in the game, you can play this as a 5-mana ⅔ that taps down one of your opponent’s creatures for a turn. That’s not awesome, but it is nice that it can work that way late. She also makes sure to give you some value, even when she chump blocks, since she’ll lock that creature down for a turn at least.

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Run Away Together

AI Rating: 2.3
Pro Rating: 1.0

This kind of weird symmetrical bounce effect is mostly not worth it. Bouncing something your opponent doesn’t want to be bounced and something of yours that you DO want to bounce can be good, but that is a little too situational.

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Sage of the Falls

AI Rating: 2.9
Pro Rating: 3.0

5-mana for a ⅖ that loots would probably already be kind of ok and this also lets you loot any time you play a huge number of creatures in this format -- since the majority are inf act non-human. Looting is powerful as the game goes on, because it improves the quality of your draws drastically. Additionally, the UR deck especially is interested in drawing you extra cards so you can get various bonuses, and the Sage helps there too.

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So Tiny

AI Rating: 2.5
Pro Rating: 1.0 // 2.5

This isn’t a great removal spell, and is pretty close to unplayable if you’re not a mill deck. -2/-0 just isn’t enough to deal with most creatures, so you end up spending a card just to downgrade one. If you can consistently get it to -6/-0, like you can in the mill deck, it gets better – but you are still downgrading a creature, not removing it.

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Steelgaze Griffin

AI Rating: 1.2
Pro Rating: 2.0

Yet another payoff for drawing an extra card each turn, Steelgaze Griffin has some pretty bad base stats as a 5-mana 2/4 with Flying. But the upside it comes with is nice – becoming a 4/4 on turns you draw an extra card is pretty serious. A 5-mana 4/4 with Flying – you know, like Air elemental – is usually in the lower part of the B range. Obviously, this is worse because it won’t always be a 4/4, but it seems like a reasonable payoff for drawing extra cards in the UR deck.

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Stolen by the Fae

AI Rating: 4.8
Pro Rating: 4.5

This is really powerful – it lets you put your opponent down a card on board, while giving you an army of Faeries to start attacking in the sky with. This can get a bit pricey for bigger creatures, but at least as you scale up your investment, you also get more Faeries. Even just bouncing a 2 or 3 drop with thing is pretty great.

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Syr Elenora, the Discerning

AI Rating: 4.2
Pro Rating: 2.5

At worse you’re paying 5 mana for a ¼ that draws you a card and costs your opponent some extra mana to kill. That isn’t a great card. This has more going on than that though, since it can get larger if you’re holding on to more cards in your hand. The kind of awkward thing, though, is most Limited decks just aren’t clutching cards all the time, so frequently she won’t be much more than 0/4 or a ¼, especially in the late game. Sure, you hold on to lands and she gets bigger once it gets late, and she can progressively get larger once you know that’s your plan, but I still think she is held back in Limited since hand size just doesn’t stay high late in most games.

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Tome Raider

AI Rating: 3
Pro Rating: 2.5

This card overperforms in this format. Netting you a card right away is great, and then it can also attack in the air reasonably well.

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Turn into a Pumpkin

AI Rating: 3.9
Pro Rating: 3.0

A 4-mana bounce any permanent that draws you a card is usually pretty good anyway – this is because you actually don’t go down a card like you do with most bounc spell, and you still get to get some tempo. Now, the fact it costs 4 means you aren’t going to have as many targets that really make you feel good about bouncing them – unlike with two mana versions of the effect – but yeah, I’m willing to pay 2 more mana to draw a card. Then, with Adamant, you might also get a Food token, and that’s a nice additional effect.

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Unexplained Vision

AI Rating: 2.3
Pro Rating: 2.0

This is the kind of card that Blue control decks will be interested in having one of. After they manage to stabilize the board, casting something like this allows them to really pull ahead -- one card getting them three cards is no joke, and would already be an okayish card if that’s all it was. If you can get Adamant with this and add Scry 3 you’re really doing something interesting, as you’re seeing up to 6 cards in your deck, which is a huge number in Limited.

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Vantress Gargoyle

AI Rating: 4.8
Pro Rating: 3.5

A twomana 5/4 with flying is obviously pretty insane, and it obviously has to come with some drawbacks -- and this Gargoyle comes with some pretty hefty ones. He won’t be able to attack early in most games, but at least he can mill the opponent on his own and eventually get them to 7 cards all on his own. Plus, there’s a mill deck in this format that makes that easier. Blocking with him might be trickier, if only because he doesn’t really have a way to make sure you are holding on to cards. Holding on to 4 cards in Limited is not always an easy thing to do. Still, even if you play this late, the fact that this is a two mana 5/4 flyer that can attack your opponent is pretty impressive.

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Vantress Paladin

AI Rating: 2.2
Pro Rating: 2.5

The difference between a 4-mana 2/2 flyer and a 4-mana 3/3 flyer is pretty big in terms of efficiency. This is a card that will be awesome in a deck that is mostly Blue, and a card that will be kind of ok in a deck that is at least half Blue.

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Wishful Merfolk

AI Rating: 1.4
Pro Rating: 2.0

One mana to Scry 2 isn’t the worst deal ever, Scrying 2 is pretty close to drawing a card – and then, the fact that you can sacrifice it later in the game to draw 2 cards is nice. Sometimes, you’ll pay 5 mana for this and Scry 2 and then draw 2 cards right away – and that’s not a bad place to be, really.

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Witching Well

AI Rating: 2.7
Pro Rating: 2.0

One mana to Scry 2 isn’t the worst deal ever, Scrying 2 is pretty close to drawing a card – and then, the fact that you can sacrifice it later in the game to draw 2 cards is nice. Sometimes, you’ll pay 5 mana for this and Scry 2 and then draw 2 cards right away – and that’s not a bad place to be, really.

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Ayara, First of Locthwain

AI Rating: 3.9
Pro Rating: 3.5

Draining the opponent for one every time you play a Black creature is nice, but drawing cards by sacrificing black creatures is what really pushes her over for me. It is going to be somewhat challenging to build mono-colored decks in this format, but a little less challenging than it is in most recent formats we have been in, since there are several reasons to do it here. I think if you see her Pack One, Pick One, you can take her in most scenarios -- and try your best to have your deck be mono-black or at least mostly-black.

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Bake into a Pie

AI Rating: 4.1
Pro Rating: 4.0

This is a premium. 4 mana instant speed removal is already in the premium range, and the fact that this makes a Food token is some nice additional value. You can use that token to gain some life on a later turn, or use it with a card that takes advantage of the tokens in some other way.

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Barrow Witches

AI Rating: 1.9
Pro Rating: 1.5

Getting back a Knight is nice, but the Witches are overall inefficient, and if you don’t have anything going on in your graveyard they are pretty miserable.

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Belle of the Brawl

AI Rating: 4.2
Pro Rating: 3.5

3-mana 3/2s with Menace always play well on their own and Belle of the Brawl also happens to make your other Knights bigger when she attacks, and that is significant upside, since this set is loaded up with knights in the Mardu colors.

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Blacklance Paragon

AI Rating: 4.3
Pro Rating: 3.5

Note that it can target itself with the deathtouch and lifelink ability, meaning that you can flash this in to kill pretty much any creature, while also gaining life – an exchange you will always gladly take. Obviously he can pump other Knights too, but because of the stat-line this guy has, I think he’ll target himself a larger chunk of the time.

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Bog Naughty

AI Rating: 4.1
Pro Rating: 3.5

Even if you just have one or two ways to make food, you’ll play this. And most of the time, I think you end up with 3+ ways to do it without trying too hard. If you end up with a lot of food, this becomes one of the very best cards in your deck, capable of machine gunning your opponent’s creatures and making combat a nightmare.

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Cauldron Familiar

AI Rating: 3.2
Pro Rating: 0.0 // 2.5

So, a one mana 1/1 that just drains life probably isn’t playable. This one is an interesting food build around, though, and if your deck can make a critical mass of Food, you have a Cat that won’t stay dead, and drains your opponent one life over and over again. This is a build around, one you should avoid unless you have like 6 or more ways to make Food.

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The Cauldron of Eternity

AI Rating: 4.6
Pro Rating: 0.0

Obviously you need to load up your graveyard to even cast this, at which point it can start bringing stuff back from the yard. It is a little annoying that despite how challenging this is to cast and all the limitations it has, it also makes you put creatures that die on the bottom of your library, so when it comes into play, the fuel already in your graveyard is all you’re going to get. I think the set up cost here is really high, and that the payoff – while nice, has too many restriction on it for me to want to play this in Limited realistically.

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Cauldron's Gift

AI Rating: 1.8
Pro Rating: 2.0

5 mana to reanimate something with a +1/+1 counter isn’t awesome. And yeah, this helps you if you get Adamant going by milling some of your cards, which will make it better, but you’ll cut this a lot.

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Clackbridge Troll

AI Rating: 4.6
Pro Rating: 4.0

This reminds me a little bit of Desecration Demon – and that’s a pretty good place to be. Your opponent will get Goats to sacrifice to this guy and everything, but if he’s drawing you a card and gaining you 3 life every time they do, you’re still going to come out ahead a lot of the time.

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Epic Downfall

AI Rating: 4.4
Pro Rating: 4.0

This is a premium removal. You are guaranteed to always trade up with it, and I really like that. Sure, it can’t kill little guys, but all decks will have plenty of creatures with CMC 3 or higher, and this will feel great when you cast it.

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Eye Collector

AI Rating: 2
Pro Rating: 1.5

In general, one mana 1/1 flyers that don’t do anything else – and this mostly doesn’t do anything else – aren’t that good. This is sort of reasonable in the mill deck, but that’s about it.

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Festive Funeral

AI Rating: 1.8
Pro Rating: 2.0

This is a conditional removal spell that will almost never be efficient. But hey, it IS still removal.

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Foreboding Fruit

AI Rating: 2.5
Pro Rating: 2.0

Black card draw spells like this are pretty much always a reasonable inclusion as a one-of. The card on the face of it is a two-for-one, but you do have to be careful since it doesn’t impact the board at all, and sometimes doing this early can be dangerous when you could be playing a creature that will help you survive. The Adamant here is a nice bonus, but it doesn’t add a ton to the card – though it will be nice gaining life back after you cast this.

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Forever Young

AI Rating: 2.4
Pro Rating: 2.0

This is kind of like a Black Anticipate. For two mana you aren’t really gaining card advantage, but you will be improving your future draws, and you will draw one of the cards you put on top right away. Sometimes it will feel amazing because of cards in your graveyard, other times it won’t do much – but hey, you get to draw the card either way so the fail case could be worse. This is the kind of effect people frequently overrate, because their mind immediately goes to the scenario where you put your bomb back on top of your deck – but there will certainly be times you have this and nothing in your graveyard is worth putting on top.

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Foulmire Knight

AI Rating: 4.3
Pro Rating: 3.5

3-mana to draw one and lose one life isn’t very good – however, a one mana 1/1 with Deathtouch is playable in every format, and pretty much guarantees you’re going to get to 2-for-1 your opponent if you went on an Adventure first.

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Giant's Skewer

AI Rating: 1.9
Pro Rating: 2.0

This Equipment gives a fairly efficient boost, and the fact that it can give you Food is pretty nice. While that’s not quite lifelink, it does feel that way sometimes.

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Lash of Thorns

AI Rating: 1.6
Pro Rating: 1.0

This is an alright trick, but this format has lots of tricks attached to creatures thanks to Adventures, and that’s way better than a card that is JUST a trick. For that reason, the Lash isn’t something you play very often.

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Locthwain Paladin

AI Rating: 2.4
Pro Rating: 2.0

4-mana for a 3/2 with Menace isn’t a great rate but is almost passable. Obviousy, though, this comes with additional upside thanks to Adamant – and a 4-mana 4/3 with Menace is some serious business.

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Lost Legion

AI Rating: 2.7
Pro Rating: 2.5

I always like this kind of creature. Sure, it doesn’t do well on the vanilla test as a 3-mana ⅔ -- even being one that is kind of hard to cast, BUT Scry 2 is some serious value, and goes a long way towards ensuring your draws are better for a little while. And, it is also has a useful creature type. I think all of this combines to make it a solid playable for Black decks.

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Malevolent Noble

AI Rating: 1.7
Pro Rating: 2.5

This guy is a serious underperformer. He isn’t BAD per se, but looking at him at first, I thought he would be a pretty powerful common. Being able to sacrifice your food or creatures to make him bigger seemed nice! And he starts out as a two-mana 2/2, so that’s not too bad! Problem is, having the mana and resources around to use his ability a lot just doesn’t happen much. He’s still fine, but he isn’t even close to one of Black’s best commons.

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Memory Theft

AI Rating: 1.4
Pro Rating: 1.0

Coercion usually isn’t a very good card in Limited – you pay a significant amount of mana and don’t impact the board at all. This does come with the ability to get rid of creatures sitting around in the Adventure Zone, and when you can do that it will almost feel like a 2-for-1, but there’s no guarantee it will line up that way.

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Murderous Rider

AI Rating: 5
Pro Rating: 4.5

One half is basically Murder, and the other side is Vampire Nighthawk. Ok, yes – neither half is quite as good as those two cards, but the fact that two cards close to those in power are on a single card is pretty awesome. The fact it goes to the bottom of your library doesn’t hurt either, as if a game goes long you know you have a kill spell waiting at the bottom that might help you win before you run out of cards.

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Oathsworn Knight

AI Rating: 4.8
Pro Rating: 3.5

A 3 mana 4/4 is a pretty good deal, even if it has to always attack. And this one comes with what is mostly upside -- he is really difficult to kill in combat -- it will take 4 separate combats for him to die. More if you put some more +1/+1 counters on him -- and there are a few ways to do that. He will just be a nightmare to block if he actually comes down early, because he will be the biggest thing around, and blocking him won’t be fun. The fact he shrinks is definitely worth the fact that he just doesn’t die for awhile.

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Order of Midnight

AI Rating: 4.4
Pro Rating: 4.0

A two mana 2/2 flyer that can’t Block is great in aggressive decks, and the fact that this lets you get a creature back from your graveyard is incredible. This is basically gravedigger, who gives up the ability to Block to gain Flying, and that’s a pretty good trade. Especially because the Adventure mechanic makes things even better than all that because of the added flexibility.

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Piper of the Swarm

AI Rating: 4.2
Pro Rating: 4.0

A two-mana 1/3 that can make rats with Menace is pretty solid. It will probably be kind of hard to amass three rats for the Mind control effect, but if you ever do you’re in serious business. I like cards like this – it is decent early game as a 1-mana 1/3, and it can take over the late game as a mana sink. Not many two drops can do both of those things, but this one can!

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Rankle, Master of Pranks

AI Rating: 4.9
Pro Rating: 4.5

A 4-mana 3/3 with Flying and Haste is a very good card already, but add all that other text and it is even better. Sure, all the effects are symmetrical, but you get to decide which of the 3 effects triggers, and you can always choose the one or ones that are best for you or worst for your opponent. Letting your opponent draw a card isn’t awesome, but you get a chance to cast the card you draw before they do – the discard effect and sacrifice effect will frequently be nice too. Rankle just seems like it will take over games pretty easily – even if there are times when you don’t really want to be choosing any of these effects, you still have a 4-mana 3/3 with Flying and Haste.

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Reaper of Night

AI Rating: 2.6
Pro Rating: 2.0

This can be a decent discard spell early, and then a very real threat late. It isn’t super good at being either of those things, but it isn’t too shabby.

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Reave Soul

AI Rating: 3.6
Pro Rating: 3.0

This is always a nice removal spell when we see it. Two mana to kill something is a good deal, and because this looks at power, it won’t be that hard to trade up with it either. I think it is in the lower range of “premium” removal.

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Revenge of Ravens

AI Rating: 4.2
Pro Rating: 2.5

This card is kind of weird. It is good against a lot of the field in this format, as gaining all that life and damaging them makes it pretty impossible for them to race you. HOWEVER, there are two decks in this format that can basically ignore Revenge of Ravens. The food deck, because it can gain a ton of life, and the mill deck, which doesn’t really plan on attacking you anyway.

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Smitten Swordmaster

AI Rating: 3.4
Pro Rating: 2.5

If your deck has lots of Knights in it, his Adventure can be absolutely devastating – and this becomes even more true because you don’t even use up a card to do it! Effects like that often aren’t awesome, because if you aren’t killing your opponent with them, you are going down a card to not have a direct effect on the board – but this guy can come down as a 2-mana 2/1 with Lifelink, which is already a pretty decent card – especially with the Knight creature type. I mean, if we think of this as a 3-mana 2/1 with lifelink that does 1 to the opponent for each Knight – that would be a pretty high quality card, and this is better than that in some ways!

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Specter's Shriek

AI Rating: 2
Pro Rating: 0.5

Specter’s Shriek, while efficient, is going to be god awful against people not playing Black. One mana and a whole card are not worth taking away a card from your opponent in most scenarios. That’s 2-for-1ing yourself, and you’re doing it for something that doesn’t even affect the board! Now, I do think against opponent’s playing Black, it is reasonable to side in, especially if they are the kind of deck holding on to a bunch of cards.

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Syr Konrad, the Grim

AI Rating: 4.6
Pro Rating: 4.0

This feels like it should have been a rare, and not just because he is Legendary, but because he is so complex – and also pretty awesome. So a 5-mana 5/4 does alright on the vanilla test, and then this guy has an absolutely massive text box, which lets you damage the opponent any time a creature is put into the graveyard from someone’s hand or their library. Konrad is going to provide some nice late game reach for decks. His ability is pretty cheap, and gives you a chance to do between 0 and 2 damage every time you use it. If this format also has a graveyard deck, I think he will get better, since if you can take advantage of loading your own graveyard, you’re going to like him even more.

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Tempting Witch

AI Rating: 2.7
Pro Rating: 2.5

She seems alright to me. A 3-mana ⅓ is pretty abyssmal on the vanilla test, but since she also gives you Food, AND is a food payoff, I can let that slide. She can give your deck some nice reach in the late game if you have food laying around, and she represents a nice clock for Food decks.

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Wicked Guardian

AI Rating: 2.4
Pro Rating: 2.0

So, a 4-mana 4/2 that damages one of your guys and draws you a card is sort of an interesting design. Sure, it might kill your guy, but I think a 4-mana 4/2 that sacrifices a creature and draws you a card would be a solid card, and this is better than that, because sometimes it won’t actually kill your creature at all, in which case you’re just netting a straight-up 2-for-1.

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Wishclaw Talisman

AI Rating: 4.7
Pro Rating: 0.0

Tutor effects can already be too clunky for Limited, but this one is actually pretty efficient and gets you multiple cards -- but the fact that you don’t even get to do it all three times is what really ruins this card for me. Sure, chances are, you’ll get to get 2 cards with it and your opponent will get one – so maybe you come out ahead, but if your opponent has a huge bomb you just handed it to them. I don’t think I want to play this card in the format at all.

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Witch's Vengeance

AI Rating: 4.9
Pro Rating: 3.0

There are some rather common creature types in this format – with Knight being the most common – but others like Faeries, Rogue, Soldier, Elves, and Humans are also pretty common. I think you’re happy with this even if you just kill one thing of your opponent’s, and obviously you can usually make that happen with this. If they have multiple creatures with the same type it starts to get silly – even if it is just 2. The downside is that it also effects your creatures with the chosen creature type, but I think since you control what creature type you name, you can always make sure that this works best for you and worst for your opponent.

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Barge In

AI Rating: 2.1
Pro Rating: 2.0

This trick only works if you are attacking, which does hurt it a little bit, because losing the flexibility to save a creature from some removal spells, or using it when you’re blocking matters – but like 90% of the time you use a trick, you’re attacking anyway, so it isn’t a huge hit. And I think it mostly makes up for that problem with the fact that it can grant all your non-human creatures trample, which is a nice additional line of text to have.

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Bloodhaze Wolverine

AI Rating: 1.4
Pro Rating: 2.5

A two-mana 2/1 isn’t so good these days, but it is the kind of card you’ll run when you really need a two-drop. But this does something extra – gaining +1/+1 and First Strike is no joke, it makes the Wolverine go from an easy card to block, to being a creature that it is hard to block profitably in any way. If you have something like Opt, you can even do it at Instant speed, making for a pretty nasty trick.

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Blow Your House Down

AI Rating: 1.4
Pro Rating: 1.0

This is the kind of effect hyper aggressive decks will be able to end the game with. The problem with a card like this, though, is that it is only good in a specific situation – one where you can deal lethal, basically, and mediocre at all other times. It is sort of nice it can blow up Walls – there are a few playable ones in this format (we’re about to see one shortly, actually), but still, this is the kind of corner-case cards that only the most aggro decks around will want to play.

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Bonecrusher Giant

AI Rating: 4.9
Pro Rating: 4.0

This guy is very good. Being a removal spell for the Adventure is awesome -- even more awesome that he can go to the face if he needs to. Sure, two mana for 2 damage at instant speed isn’t incredible -- but that would be a decent card on its own, as it has been in the past. Then, the other part of the card is a 3-mana 4/3, which is doing a great job on the vanilla test, and he also has a relevant text box, which means if your opponent has removal for him, they’re going to have to take 2 damage when they use it. It does also mean you can’t use tricks on him without damaging yoruself, but hey -- he can’t just be all upside right? But yeah, between being a reasonable removal spell and an efficient creature, Bonecrusher Giant will be getting 2-for-1s all day long.

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Brimstone Trebuchet

AI Rating: 2.8
Pro Rating: 2.5

Any time we have a creature like this they turn out being pretty good – look at cards like Nettle Drone and Thermo-Alchemist. Now, this is more specific than either of those, but it will still be nice. A 3-mana 1/3 with Reach that does damage to your opponent one at a time isn’t incredible – but is close to solid. Most Red decks will probably have a few knights no matter what, and obviously it gets even better when you have a ton.

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Burning-Yard Trainer

AI Rating: 3.4
Pro Rating: 3.0

A 5-mana 3/3 with Trample and Haste isn’t good. He can maybe come down and give you lethal right away thanks to Haste, but yeah – not that good. However, if he can come down and pump one of your other creatures and give it those keywords, you’re going to be in serious business. If you can do that, he adds 5 evasive power to the board that attacks right away, and that’s a good deal for 5 mana.

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Claim the Firstborn

AI Rating: 2.8
Pro Rating: 0.5

This is cheaper than most Threaten effects we see – usually they cost 3 – but it is also not as flexible, since it can only target small creatures. I’m never overjoyed with effects like this one, unless I have two things going on – 1) I’m an aggro deck, and 2) I have creatures who can sacrifice other creatures. If you can steal your opponent’s dude and then kill it, that’s pretty great. Problem is, those two things don’t come together often enough for this to be very good, especially because it can only steal smaller creatures.

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Crystal Slipper

AI Rating: 1.1
Pro Rating: 1.5

The initial cost of the card – 2 to play and 1 to equip is pretty steep. That said, being able to sort of pay a kicker on your creatures of one mana to give them +1/+0 and Haste seems alright. I think you probably play one of these in aggro decks sometimes, but I feel like you’ll cut it pretty regularly too.

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Embercleave

AI Rating: 4.1
Pro Rating: 5.0

This is incredibly strong, and difficult for an opponent to beat. You can win the game out of nowhere with this quite easily, since you can cast it so cheaply and it gives such a massive boost between the keywords and the stats boost. It can let you run over an opponents’ creature too, and just do a bunch of damage instead of lethal. Even if your opponent kills the creature with the Embercleave on it, the Equipment is going to stick around, and that’s just awesome.

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Embereth Paladin

AI Rating: 1.9
Pro Rating: 1.5

A 4-mana 4/1 with Haste isn’t anything special these days – you have to find the right opening for it to do something significant, or risk it just being traded with by a much cheaper creature. Even when you add Adamant to the mix, you’re getting a 5/2 with Haste for 4, which if that’s what this was 100% of the time would be solid, but it just won’t be.

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Embereth Shieldbreaker

AI Rating: 3.5
Pro Rating: 3.0

So, here we have some Artifact hate that is actually mainboardable – and that’s probably a good thing, because there are a decent number of artifacts in this set. We can think of this as a 3-mana 2/1 that destroys an Artifact – and that’s a nice deal, pretty easy to get a 2-for-1 if you actually get to destroy the artifact. There are enough Artifacts in this set to make the Shieldbreaker quite good.

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Ferocity of the Wilds

AI Rating: 2.1
Pro Rating: 1.0

We’ve seen a lot of effects over the years that only help your board out if you’re attacking, and they typically underperform if that’s literally all the card does – and htat’s what we’re looking at here. Why is that? Well, because they really only work out if you’re the beat down, meaning they are a big fat nothing in games where you’re behind. Even if you’re super aggro, you’re going to end up behind sometimes, and when you do, you’re going to wish you hadn’t drawn this. Do you play this in a super aggressive deck loaded up with non-humans? Probably – but even if those things align perfectly, you’ve got a card that is just so bad in so many situations.

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Fervent Champion

AI Rating: 4.5
Pro Rating: 2.5

mana 1/1s get outclassed fast, and sure – this one has a bunch of text on it, but that text doesn’t do a ton to change that fact. Sure, it has first strike, so it can still attack through 2/1s and the like – but giving a small power boost to one other Knight you have, while kind of nice on a Haste creature – isn’t that big of a deal. Equipment, Auras, and combat tricks will be this guy’s friend because of First Strike – and especially Equipment, because Equipment gets a substantial discount if you’re putting it on the Champion. I think all that upside does enough for this to be a solid playable, but I’m not willing to go higher than that.

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Fires of Invention

AI Rating: 4.5
Pro Rating: 0.0

Not paying mana for spells is cool and all, but this gives you some other major limitations that are just too much to overcome in Limited.

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Fling

AI Rating: 1.5
Pro Rating: 1.5

We see this a lot, and it doesn’t tend to be great without a super sacrifice sub-theme in a set.

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Irencrag Feat

AI Rating: 4.4
Pro Rating: 0.0

Ritual effects are just not worth it in Limited. They’re situational, and they’re also card disadvantage. Don’t play this.

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Irencrag Pyromancer

AI Rating: 4.2
Pro Rating: 3.5

UR in this format has a focus on drawing extra cards, and the Pyromancer is probably the best payoff for it in the entire format. Lightning Bolting something every time you draw that second card is incredible, and even just doing it once will be solid -- doing it more than that and you’re really going to be in business. Because there are other payoffs for drawing extra cards in this format, I don’t think it will be that hard to construct a deck that can abuse the Pyromancer in Limited.

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Joust

AI Rating: 4
Pro Rating: 2.5

too – it isn’t like Rabid Bites and other cards we’ve recently seen. Two mana to fight at Sorcery speed is not something that impressive, but it is certainly good enough to have a copy or two in your deck. One of the problems that Fight effects have is that it will only be good with your larger creatures. This helps mitigate against that a bit, since it makes your Knight larger too, so a larger percentage of your deck will be good with this than normal. It also has all the downsides cards like this have – your opponent can kill your creature in response to you targeting it, blowing you out, so you have to be careful. I think this is a going to be fine in a typical Red deck – which will have enough larger creatures and Knights without trying real hard.

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Mad Ratter

AI Rating: 2.9
Pro Rating: 0.0 // 3.0

4 mana for a ½ Is horrible, so you just aren’t running this unless you get enough ways to draw extra cards that you get to make the Rat tokens. It will be pretty nice in a deck that gets there, but I think it is still hard for it to be incredible because of how small it is and how much mana it costs. Still, it is one of the better common or uncommon payoffs in the set for drawing extra cards.

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Merchant of the Vale

AI Rating: 2.6
Pro Rating: 2.0

Both halves of this card are pretty underwhelming. Rummaging can be nice in the late game, when you have some excess lands, so the fact he can do that over and over again as a mana sink when he is a creature isn’t too bad, especially since it is a reasonable 2/3 for 3. One mana to discard card a card and rummage would be a pretty bad card honestly, since you’re actually going down two cards. This does get around that sort of by the fact that it is a creature later on, but still – the Adventure half here isn’t very good.

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Ogre Errant

AI Rating: 2.2
Pro Rating: 2.0

This is harder to get going than you might think, and even when it does, it finds itself on boards where it still doesn’t have a good attack.

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Opportunistic Dragon

AI Rating: 4.1
Pro Rating: 4.5

So, a 4-mana 4/3 flyer is already great. The ETB ability is kind of weird, but there are enough humans and artifacts in this format that you’ll steal something with this like half the time, maybe. While you don’t really get to reap the benefits of stealing that permanent, it does effectively act as a removal spell. Even if you’re just getting rid of a Food your opponent has, that’s some nice additional value. Other times you’ll be getting rid of a real permanent, and when you do that it will be completely absurd.

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Raging Redcap

AI Rating: 2.5
Pro Rating: 2.0

So, a 3-mana ½ with Double Strike is an ok deal. This set also has a pretty heavy theme of auras and equipment, and he is a good place to put those.

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Redcap Melee

AI Rating: 3.5
Pro Rating: 3.5

So, I think this is pretty good – even if you are sacrificing a land for it. One mana to do 4 at Instant speed is incredibly efficiency, and not the kind of thing we see very often. I will gladly sacrifice a land for that type of efficiency. I think even without the clause that makes it better against Red permanents it is already premium removal.

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Redcap Raiders

AI Rating: 2.2
Pro Rating: 2.5

Frequently you won’t have an untapped non-human creature for the buff, and even if you do, it isn’t like it makes this creature into a world beater. A 4/3 with trample is nice, but not a major problem.

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Rimrock Knight

AI Rating: 3.5
Pro Rating: 3.0

This is a huge overperformer. The Adventure side of the card often becomes a burn spell to the opponents’ face, and sometimes it can even help a creature win combat. Then, you get a nice efficient, aggressive creature that also happens to be a knight!

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Robber of the Rich

AI Rating: 4.9
Pro Rating: 3.5

This is a powerful two drop, the kind that can potential run away with the game, since it can give you so much card advantage. Even in a worst case scenario, you can send this in kamikaze-style and still essentially draw a card from your opponent’s library. Now, keep in mind, this isn’t the version of this effect that lets you play lands, it has to be spells, so you’re going to whiff a decent chunk of the time.

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Scorching Dragonfire

AI Rating: 4
Pro Rating: 4.0

We see two mana to do 3 a lot, and it is always a premium removal spell. It is cheap enough and kills big enough creatures that you usually are going to break even or come out ahead with your opponent in terms of mana. It is also an Instant, so you’ll be able to get some blowouts to happen in a world of combat tricks and Auras. Exiling stuff it kills is nice additional upside.

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Searing Barrage

AI Rating: 2.9
Pro Rating: 2.5

This is solid removal for Red, but like to Reduce to Ashes and command the Storm before that, it isn’t premium. Costing 5 is a ton, and most of the time it is going to feel a little clunky. It will frequently cost more mana than whatever you kill with it, and that does put you behind the eight ball a little bit.

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Seven Dwarves

AI Rating: 2.6
Pro Rating: 1.0 // 2.5

A vanilla two mana 2/2 doesn’t usually make your deck these days unless you are desperate for a two-drop. Obviously though, the more of these you get, the better they are. Getting 7 of this probably won’t be that easy, but I think with 3-5 -- which is more realistic, you’re looking at a decent card.

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Skullknocker Ogre

AI Rating: 1.5
Pro Rating: 1.0

Man, this is a weird card. A 4 mana 4/3 is usually a playable creature – but how about one that makes your opponent discard a card at random and draw a card? The question we have to answer is: how often will making your opponent rummage help them? Unfortunatley, I think the answer to that is more often than not – especially once your opponent knows you have this in play, and they can just start holding on to lands. And what’s the payoff for a creature that will help your opponent to draw into gas in some situations? Just a 4/3. You’re only playing this if you’re desperate.

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Slaying Fire

AI Rating: 4.3
Pro Rating: 4.0

This is an excellent removal spell, we have had many 3 mana do 3 damage instants over the years, and they are always premium removal. This comes with the added bonus of the Adamant mechanic, which if you can pull it off, make sit so this can do 4 damage instead, and that’s pretty nice.

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Sundering Stroke

AI Rating: 4.9
Pro Rating: 2.5 // 4.5

This reminds me a lot of Serpentine Strike from Battle for Zendikar. Sure, it costs 7 mana, but it gives you 7 mana worth of value, since 7 damage divided around is going to usually be enough for a nice 2-for-1, and will sometimes be able to do even more than that. The fact it can also go to the face is great too, as 7 damage is no joke, and can sometimes just end a game. Obviously, if you’re playing mono-red it is completely absurd, and becomes a complete and utter bomb, since 7 damage to three things is insane. Still, funny thing about it is that it is probably also worth splashing just for the divided 7 damage.

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Syr Carah, the Bold

AI Rating: 4.2
Pro Rating: 3.5

A 5-mana 3/3 that can ping anything any time it wants is already playable pretty decent. Then, you add the fact that if this pings your opponent – you basically get to draw a card. Yeah, it isn’t EXACTLY draw a card, but it is close – you can even play lands off of this. So basically, you have a source of damage that draws you extra cards, and once you get 2 or 3 cards out of this, your opponent is going to have a hard time coming back. And that’s even if your deck has ZERO ways to do damage to the opponent with instants and sorceries, Syr Carah can do it all on her own. She also has the useful Knight creature type! The one downside she has is the fact that she is kind of small for 5 mana, and is still in range of lots of removal in this format, but the upside here is insane.

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Thrill of Possibility

AI Rating: 1.8
Pro Rating: 2.0

This is an always alright but also always replaceable card. It gets a little better in this format because it lets you trigger “draw 2” payoffs on your opponents’ turn.

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Torbran, Thane of Red Fell

AI Rating: 4.9
Pro Rating: 4.0

This whole cycle looks really fun, and they present another group of cards, in addition to the Adamant mechanic, that really seems to be pushing you to either be mono-colored, or at least very much in their color. Torbran’s effect includes himself, so he is effectively a 4-mana 4/4, and it can effectively pump a board that has gone wide, or make a burn spell more capable of killing the opponent’s creature. If you’re mono-red or close to it, he will be utterly game-breaking.

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Weaselback Redcap

AI Rating: 2.3
Pro Rating: 1.5

I’m not usually interested in cards like this. Sure, it is a one mana 1/1 with upside, but the upside it has isn’t especially good. People often overrate cards like this – but what makes it not so good is that literally any creature blocking it kills it, and you might think you can trade up with this, but in most cases, the total mana you spend on your Weaselback Redcap to take down a creature with more than one toughness will almost always be more than your opponent spent on that creature, so really – in most scenarios you’re coming out behind.

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Beanstalk Giant

AI Rating: 4.3
Pro Rating: 4.0

In the early game, this is a reasonable ramp and fixing spell, and in the late game it is a big ol’ giant who can help you close out the game.

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Curious Pair

AI Rating: 3.1
Pro Rating: 2.5

This is solid. Food has a lot of synergy in this set, and the Adventure is very reasonably costed. Similarly, the stats for the Pair are just fine.

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Edgewall Innkeeper

AI Rating: 4
Pro Rating: 1.0 // 4.0

This card is all about one thing: Adventuring, and it is a dang good payoff for it. I think it won’t be all that difficult to get 4-5 cards with Adventure, and if you have that, you probably want to play this. However, if you really get there on creatures who can Adventure, this is going to be an insane value engine. He might be fragile as a 1/1, but I think even drawing one card off of this makes it worth it, and if you really get going, he is just going to win you the game.

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Feasting Troll King

AI Rating: 4.9
Pro Rating: 4.0

That’s a pretty challenging cost if you aren’t mono-green, but it is a pretty good payoff for that, since it has incredible stats and doesn’t stay dead. Mono-colored, or at least closer to mono-colored, decks look very possible in this format, so the Troll King may be easier to cast than I expect. I’m still a bit skeptical though – I think you first pick this, but not over premium removal and the like, just because it is so hard to cast.

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Fell the Pheasant

AI Rating: 1
Pro Rating: 0.5

This is mostly just sideboard hate to bring in against someone who has a lot of flyers.

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Fierce Witchstalker

AI Rating: 4
Pro Rating: 3.5

A 4-mana 4/4 with Trample is a great rate in Limited. Then, this makes Food too, something that is heavily supported in this format -- especially in BG, and you have a very good Common.

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Flaxen Intruder

AI Rating: 2.1
Pro Rating: 1.5

I am not super impressed by this card, as both halves seem rather underwhelming. 7 mana for 3 2/2 Bears isn’t a great deal, and a ½ that can Naturalize stuff when she hits the opponent isn’t either. Now, it is cool that Adventure might allow you to do both of these things with the one card, but paying 8 mana for three 2/2 bears and the ½ still doesn’t feel that good to me. I don’t really see myself wanting to play this in most situations.

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Garenbrig Carver

AI Rating: 3.1
Pro Rating: 3.5

This often ends up netting you a 2-for-1. The Trick Adventure helps you run over a blocker, and then you get a 3/2 in play who can trade. This is a very good Common.

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Garenbrig Paladin

AI Rating: 2.7
Pro Rating: 2.0

A 5-mana 4/4 that can’t be blocked by small dudes is kind of ok. The more Green your deck is though, the better this gets.

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Garenbrig Squire

AI Rating: 2.1
Pro Rating: 2.0

This is not the most exciting Adventure payoff around, but hey -- it is a Grizzly Bears with upside that will allow it to attack as a 3/3 sometimes. These days a vanilla Grizzly bear is a C- at best, and a D+ in a lot of formats, but the upside here is nice. Most Green decks will have at least 4 or 5 adventures without trying too hard, and that’s plenty for him to be worth playing. In most formats, decks need a few two drops, and this one seems like a solid option.

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Giant Opportunity

AI Rating: 3.4
Pro Rating: 2.0

If you can get a Giant out of this, you’re doing pretty well, and if you’re getting the Food, you’re doing alright. You do need a deck with Food payoffs to be worth it, but that’s not too crazy.

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Gilded Goose

AI Rating: 4.7
Pro Rating: 4.0

This is a one-mana mana dork, and those tend to be pretty nice in Limited. This one overcomes the downside most of those have too – it can actually do something late, by churning out Food tokens.

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The Great Henge

AI Rating: 5
Pro Rating: 5.0

Obviously you’re going to need some beefy creatures to really take advantage -- but even a 4 power creature reduces this to 5 mana, and that’s a great price for something like this. Putting a +1/+1 counter on all your nontoken creatures and drawing a card in the process is what really makes this an impressive card to me. It doesn’t hurt, though, that it can also produce mana and gain you life. After all, if you’re drawing cards, you might have use for that mana, and gaining 2 life a turn off of this will be a nice way to pay you back for taking off an entire turn just to play this thing. I think that this might just be the best of this cycle in Limited, I think it is definitely a bomb.

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Insatiable Appetite

AI Rating: 1.7
Pro Rating: 0.5

This is an ok trick, but this set has Adventure creatures who are tricks at Common, and they are just way better.

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Keeper of Fables

AI Rating: 4.4
Pro Rating: 4.0

This is really good. 5 mana 4/5s are solid in Limited, and the fact that this draws you extra cards is great. Even if you have 0 other non-humans in your deck (which isn’t going to happen), but even if it did, this would be a great card, since it is a non-human and will draw you a card when it hits the opponent. Now, make sure you’re aware that you are only going to be drawing a maximum of one card per combat damage because of the way it is worded, but that’s fine. The Keeper can singlehandedly take over games thanks to the card it draws you.

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Kenrith's Transformation

AI Rating: 2.9
Pro Rating: 3.0

This is an interesting card. Making something into a vanilla 3/3 can have multiple uses -- you can shut down some super powerful creature they have, or you can make one of yours bigger. Normally an effect like that isn’t awesome though, because it really isn’t THAT great at either of those things -- making your 1/1 into a 3/3 won’t have a huge impact most of the time, and sure, turning your opponents scary dragon into a 3/3 is going to be a relief, but you’re still letting your opponent have a decent sized creature. The cantrip effect pushes this over the edge, though, into being a pretty good playable.

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Lovestruck Beast

AI Rating: 4.9
Pro Rating: 3.5

A 3-mana 5/5 is pretty good. If we just take away the Adventure part of the card, and assume this is a 3-mana 5/5 with Defender – that would still be a good card in a lot of decks, since that is a pretty frightening blocker. The fact that he can attack if you have a 1/1 in play is some nice additional value, especially because you can send him on an Adventure on turn 1 or so, and then actually cast him on turn 3. Here your total investment is pretty drawn nice, since it is 4 mana for a 5/5 and a 1/1!

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Maraleaf Rider

AI Rating: 2.5
Pro Rating: 2.0

A two mana 3/1 is fine, and this comes with some decent upside. It isn’t the most exciting Food payoff, but being able to make your opponenet’s X/3 have to block this when you know you’re going to trade up doesn’t hurt.

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Oakhame Adversary

AI Rating: 4
Pro Rating: 2.5

Even if we take the line away about your opponent having Green permanents, this would have been a nice card. A 4-mana 2/3 with Deathtouch that can draw you a card when it hits your opponent is going to be good enough to make the cut in most Green decks anyway. Those two effects combined is always pretty potent, because your opponent is put in a difficult situation, especially if the only blockers they have are large. And, you know, death touch means it can trade with anything anyway.

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Once and Future

AI Rating: 2.8
Pro Rating: 1.5

So, 4 to return a card to your hand, and improve card selection isn’t too bad. If you can get the Adamant going on this it gets to be super good, as 4 mana to return any two cards from your graveyard to your hand is pretty nice. It will feel a lot like Black effects that let you return creatures, though, even if it is more flexible. You’re just not always going to have two things in your graveyard worth getting -- like in the early game.

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Once Upon a Time

AI Rating: 4.6
Pro Rating: 2.0

So, we see this kind of effect a lot, and it is always decent. I think it is fair to compare this to anticipate – it lets you see more cards, but is flexible about what you grab – but whiffing with this will be almost impossible, since most Limited decks are 32 or more lands and creatures combined. The fact that it is free if you get it early is some nice upside, but in Limited, where you have one copy, I don’t know how often it will work out for you.

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Outmuscle

AI Rating: 3.7
Pro Rating: 3.0

This is a strictly better Hunt the Weak, and that’s not a bad place to be. Hunt the Weak is always a solid removal spell -- but not premium. It isn’t premium because of how clunky it is at 4 mana and Sorcery speed, and because Fight effects are removal spells that are really easy to interact with, since killing the creature in response to the removal spell, or pumping their creature in response to it, results in a pretty savage blow out. If you can consistently trigger Adamant with this, it gets really scary, because you can now attack your opponent with it without being worried about the creature dying.

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Questing Beast

AI Rating: 5
Pro Rating: 4.0

So, a 4-mana 4/4 with Vigilance, Deathtouch and Haste is amazing on the Vanilla test alone. This also can’t be blocked by small creatures which is pretty nice. The other parts of the card won’t come up often in Limited – there aren’t many ways to prevent damage, and there aren’t many planeswalkers – so that text doesn’t mean much for us. There will be common creatures in this format that can just block and trade with it, or worse just straight up win combat – but even then, this can trade with anything, it can attack and hang back and block, and it can attack right away – that’s a powerful combination.

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Return of the Wildspeaker

AI Rating: 4.7
Pro Rating: 3.0

So, Return of the Wildspeaker has two pretty attractive options, and it seems pretty likely that one of them will be useful to you most of the time when you’re in Green. There are lots of non-humans in this format, so drawing cards with this won’t be all that hard most of the time, and being able to give +3/+3 to non-humans at Instant speed can be utterly backbreaking.

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Return to Nature

AI Rating: 1.3
Pro Rating: 1.5

This is reasonably mainboardable in this format, as it often has a target. Still an easy cut, though, and better in your sideboard.

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Rosethorn Acolyte

AI Rating: 3.5
Pro Rating: 2.5

So, the Acolyte’s Adventure effect is one of the more underwhelming ones around, essentially just letting you filter mana. But hey, sometimes that does matter. Most of the time though you’re going to get value out of it being a creature, as a 3-mana 2/3 that fixes and ramps for you is a pretty nice thing to have around.

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Rosethorn Halberd

AI Rating: 1.8
Pro Rating: 2.0

I think this seems decent. One mana for +2/+1 stats boost, provided you have a non-human in play – is a pretty nice rate. BUT your deck has to have enough non-humans around for this to be worth it, and man – after that first creature, the Equip cost is super steep.

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Sporecap Spider

AI Rating: 1.5
Pro Rating: 1.5

Aggressive Green decks won’t really want this, but all the other Green decks should feel fine about playing the first of these. They are good at blocking flyers.

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Syr Faren, the Hengehammer

AI Rating: 4
Pro Rating: 3.0

A two mana 2/2 that pumps another attacker is great, and is probably even more potent if you have ways of pumping it. There will be times where even without help, he makes your attack profitable, but he won’t be incredible.

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Tall as a Beanstalk

AI Rating: 1.2
Pro Rating: 0.0

Lately, they have been printing Auras that are actually playable because of their efficiency, or their ability to mitigate against a 2-for-1. But this isn’t either of those. 4 mana for +3/+3 and Reach really isn’t the most amazing deal in the world, and it leaves you wide open to 2-for-1s that will also get huge tempo on you because of the total mana you spend on the creature and this Aura. Don’t play this.

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Trail of Crumbs

AI Rating: 4.1
Pro Rating: 0.0

This is a sweet food build around. In super grindy games, this drawing you extra cards is going to be some pretty serious value -- especially because it even gives you some selection over what you draw! It will be hard to wiff on two cards in Limited -- most of what’s in your deck is permanents -- but the fact it can’t draw you most removal is a bit annoying. You can use this just sacrificing food normally -- at which point you are paying 3 to gain 3 life and draw a card -- not too shabby -- but I thinkt his will be the most impressive in decks that can sacrifice food to other permanents without any mana cost, because it will be a lot easier to just pay one mana to draw the card here. I think this card definitely needs a build around grade because of that fact -- any old card that makes Food will work with it, but it won’t be at their best with them.

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Tuinvale Treefolk

AI Rating: 3.1
Pro Rating: 2.5

Like a lot of these adventure cards at common, if we look at each part of the card and imagine it as JUST that, neither half is very good. But, like all of these, it has the potential to do both of those things, and that’s not a bad way to be spending your mana. Getting a full two cards worth of value out of this single card seems very doable, and I think this will be a nice big boy to have at the top of your curve, since it can make your guys bigger too.

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Wicked Wolf

AI Rating: 4.9
Pro Rating: 4.5

This is basically Ravenous Chupacabra. Sure, it can only kill and survive fighting with creatures who have 3 or less power, and 2 or less toughness -- but that still means it kills a significant portion of creatures in the format, and then gets to stay around, usually netting you a 2-for-1. On top of that, he likes to eat Food, and if you have even one Food in play when you play him, he gets considerably more fightening, since he not only increases in size, he gains indestructible. Most decks are going to have food in them in this format without even trying, so I think he is pretty great -- obviously gets crazier the more Food you have -- he can become indestructible whenever he needs to in a deck like that.

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Wildborn Preserver

AI Rating: 4.9
Pro Rating: 4.0

A two mana 2/2 with Flash and Reach is already a decent card, and this is far more than that. The fact that you can just use all your excess mana when you play a non-human creature to pump this thing is awesome, and it can rapidly get out of hand. Obviously, you need to get those non-human creatures – but even with just like 4 or 5 of those, which should be easy to make happen – you’re going to love playing this thing. I just love that it gives you stuff to do with your mana all game long, especially because what it does is so impactful.

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Wildwood Tracker

AI Rating: 1.8
Pro Rating: 2.0

In the early game, this can be a nice attacker. I the later parts of the game it just won’t matter much that it becomes a 2/2.

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Wolf's Quarry

AI Rating: 1.3
Pro Rating: 0.5

This is just too expensive for what it does. The Boars might give you food, but that doesn’t help this card out very much.

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Yorvo, Lord of Garenbrig

AI Rating: 4.5
Pro Rating: 3.5

The Payoff here is real enough that I think you can first pick this despite the commitments it asks of you -- the upside is just too high not to. A 3 mana 4/4 is already nice, but one that constantly gets bigger if you play Green creatures is even better. He will be capable of just taking the cam over thanks to sheer size and efficiency.

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Dance of the Manse

AI Rating: 3.9
Pro Rating: 1.0

This is way too hard to set up most of the time, though if you end up in a controlling enough deck with enough enchantments and artifacts, it can be pretty wacky.

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Doom Foretold

AI Rating: 4.6
Pro Rating: 2.5

So, the sacrifice effect is symmetrical, meaning this will be most useful in a deck that can go wide. Once your opponent runs out of nonland permanents you get some nice value – but that is going to take a while, and I think there will be plenty of board states where this is just irrelevant. Note also, that if you run out of permanents that aren’t Doom Forteold, you have to sacrifice the Doom Foretold, which means you’re not going to be getting the nice effect.

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Drown in the Loch

AI Rating: 3.2
Pro Rating: 2.5

Even with a mill deck in this format, you’ll find that this just doesn’t line up often enough to be a great card.

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Escape to the Wilds

AI Rating: 4.6
Pro Rating: 3.0

Casting this can be tricky since you don’t add to the board and you’re spending 5 mana. But, if you are allowed to untap, the card advantage it gives you can often win you the game in a few turns.

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Faeburrow Elder

AI Rating: 4.7
Pro Rating: 3.5

Without any help, this is a 3-mana 2/2 with vigilance that can tap for GW. That’s some insane ramp, and it means that even if you’re just a regular old 2-color deck, it is going to be pretty good. Obviously it does get better the more colors you play, too.

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Garruk, Cursed Huntsman

AI Rating: 4.9
Pro Rating: 5.0

Garruk is a huge bomb. Even if all he was a 6-mana sorcery that destroyed a creature and drew you a card, we would be talking about a good card, but he’s much more than that! He can crank out wolf tokens who protect him in two different ways – being able to block, and raising his loyalty – he is just going to take over games between killing stuff and making tokens. His ultimate might not always be easy to get to, since he can only raise his Loyalty with the death of his Wolf tokens, but even if you never get to use it, he’s going to be a stone cold bomb.

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Grumgully, the Generous

AI Rating: 3.8
Pro Rating: 4.0

It isn’t that hard to end up in a RG deck where Grumgully just pumps most of your creatures, and when you do, she is a pretty awesome value engine.

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Improbable Alliance

AI Rating: 3.5
Pro Rating: 3.5

This is a powerful engine for UR decks. It is also nice that it can start cranking out the Faeries on its own, once you get to the 6 mana activated ability anyway – and that is certainly an advantage it has over other payoffs for drawing extra cards. UR decks will have enough ways to draw extra cards, though, that it shouldn’t be too difficul to get Faeries out of this a few times a game, and that’s no joke – Faerie tokens can really end games. It is hard to stop a bunch of flyers!

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Inspiring Veteran

AI Rating: 3.8
Pro Rating: 3.0

RW is about knights. This is a Knight lord. It is one of the better Knight payoffs in the set, and you’ll always play it in RW, but I don’t think it does enough on its own to be the kind of signpost uncommon that pulls you into its color.

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Lochmere Serpent

AI Rating: 5
Pro Rating: 5.0

This thing is just loaded up with useful abilities. Making a 7/7 unblockable is no joke, and neither is drawing cards in exchange for excess lands. I think what really makes this a bomb though is that it doesn’t always stay dead, provided your opponent gets enough creatures into their graveyard. That means that this isn’t just a bomb that says “You better answer this, or you die.” It also says “Even if you answer it, I’m coming back!” That makes this an easy A, despite being gold, I think you first pick it every time you see it.

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Maraleaf Pixie

AI Rating: 3
Pro Rating: 3.5

Everything this does, it does super efficiently. Two mana 2/2 flyer is good, two mana mana dork also good – it can win you games attacking in the air, or by helping you ramp out fatties.

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Oko, Thief of Crowns

AI Rating: 4.8
Pro Rating: 4.5

The turn you play him, you can get him up to 6 loyalty by making a Food token. So, while he won’t always be able to immediately protect himself, getting to 6 loyalty does a good job of that, especially if you’re actually playing him on turn 3. I think most of the time, one probably alternates between the Food token ability, and the +1 ability, which lets you turn stuff into Elks. This is particularly nice with his Food tokens, because he can use them to protect himself, but his +2 has a wide range of useful abilities – it can be used to downgrade the opponent’s scary creatures or upgrade yours, in addition to the fact that it can make non-creature artifacts – like food tokens – into creatures. For his mana cost, Oko is really powerful, and can rapidly take over games. In the late game, it is worth noting that in Limited, he isn’t quite as impressive.

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Outlaws' Merriment

AI Rating: 4.8
Pro Rating: 4.5

It isn’t hard to get a whole card worth of value out of this. Sure, you don’t get to choose which of these you get, but they’re all pretty nice, and all are capable of trading for an entire card of your opponent’s pretty easily. If you do that enough, you’re going to win the game. The one thing it doesn’t have going for it is that you have to wait an entire turn before it does anything, since it triggers on your upkeep, but once you get a couple of triggers from this, you will be happy – and after that you’ll be ecstatic.

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The Royal Scions

AI Rating: 4.9
Pro Rating: 3.5

So, this can come down for 3 mana and immediately tick up to 6 loyalty. That’s a ton for that early in the game. However, the effect the Scions have on your game isn’t going to be massive most of the time. I like looting, and being able to do that every turn might be the most useful thing here, especially because if you can get to the ultimate – which you could conceivably use on turn 6 – the card advantage and removal of that effect is incredible. So yeah, I think mostly you’re going to tick them up twice, and then do the ultimate – and getting there doesn’t seem impossible. If you get them down early, it will even be pretty easy. Now, the bad news about the Royal Scions: They don’t protect themselves, they don’t net you cards without their ultimate, and they don’t kill stuff apart from their ultimate. The best planeswalkers do one or two of those things, and they don’t. This means that despite high loyalty, they could be pretty vulnerable.

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Savvy Hunter

AI Rating: 4.2
Pro Rating: 3.5

A 3-mana 3/3 brings solid stats, and making Food whether attacking or Blocking is nice. It means that even if you just trade with it, you’re going to be getting some extra value. Then, if your deck has a ton of ways to make Food, this can just start drawing you cards – and there are absolutely going ot be games where Savvy Hutner takes over late, and just wins you the game.

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Shinechaser

AI Rating: 3
Pro Rating: 3.0

So, the UW signpost uncommon is all about Artifacts and Enchantments, and it becomes a 3-mana 3/3 with Flying and Vigilance if you control both. As long as you can consistently have either an Artifact or Enchantment in play, Shinechaser is going to be good, and if you can do both, well you’re golden.

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Steelclaw Lance

AI Rating: 2.7
Pro Rating: 3.0

This is a very nice Equipment if your deck has 5 or more Knights in it, since Equip one is significantly cheaper than one expects to pay for this type of stats boost. BR is focused on Knights, so I don’t think we really need to give this a build around grade, since most of the time you are going to end up with enough Knights without even trying. This card reminds me a lot of Pirate’s Cutlass, which is a good comparison.

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Stormfist Crusader

AI Rating: 4.7
Pro Rating: 2.5

This has aggressive stats, but I don’t love the symmetrical draw effect. Chances are good that it damaging your opponent will be helpful since if you’re playing the Crusader you’re probably the beatdown, but if you give them too many cards, you could be in trouble.

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Wandermare

AI Rating: 2.6
Pro Rating: 3.5

A 3-mana 3/3 as a base level is already good, and if you can put even one +1/+1 counter on this, I think you’ll be pretty happy. Anything more than that and things get silly. Keep in mind, too, that like most Adventure build arounds in this set, it doesn’t matter whether or not the creature has gone on its Adventure to trigger this – you can just cast a creature that has an Adventure option, even if you never used the Adventure half, and Wandermare will be getting a +1/+1 counter. GW will have no problems getting cards with Adventure, I don’t think it is unreasonable to assume 5-7 is kind of a guarantee.

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Wintermoor Commander

AI Rating: 3
Pro Rating: 3.5

The BW signpost uncommon seems pretty nice. On his own, he is a two mana 2/1 with Deathtouch, which is perfectly solid. Add some more nights to the mix though and he becomes a real problem, between his ever-growing toughness and the ability to make other knights indestructible. The dream is going to be get two of these into play so they can make one another indestructible – a pretty scary thing to do with deathtouch! Anyway, the commander has a high floor and a reasonably high ceiling, and it doesn’t look like getting the 5-7 knights in your deck that this asks for will be particularly difficult.

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Arcanist's Owl

AI Rating: 4.2
Pro Rating: 3.5

A 4-mana 3/3 flyer is already great, and this one will draw you a card a decent chunk of the time, since UW decks will already be loaded up with artifacts and enchantments for other purposes.

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Covetous Urge

AI Rating: 3.6
Pro Rating: 3.0

So, if you go after a card in your opponents’ hand with this, you get a 2-for-1, and that feels pretty great! Going after their graveyard is more just card selection than card advantage, but if they have a bomb there, stealing that is going to be worth it anyway.

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Deathless Knight

AI Rating: 4
Pro Rating: 4.0

A 4-mana 4/2 with Haste isn’t anything special – but a creature like this with Haste and high power, is really a scary thing when it just won’t stay dead – and this Knight won’t be doing a whole lot of that. It reminds me a lot of Ovalchase Daredevil – a 4-mana 4/2 from Kaladesh who could return from the graveyard when you played an Artifact. Deathless Knight can come back any time you gain life – something that will be pretty easy thanks to Food tokens, and this is especially true in BG, the color pair that has the most ways to make and use Food to its advantage. A 4/2 is hard to kill without trading, and that’s what makes it coming back over and over again so good.

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Elite Headhunter

AI Rating: 3.3
Pro Rating: 2.5

This has mediocre stats for the cost and the ability is too expensive.

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Fireborn Knight

AI Rating: 3.6
Pro Rating: 3.0

This is some serious business, making attacking really hard thanks to double strike, and letting you sink mana into it so it can attack even harder. This set also has some legit Equipment that also make something with double strike even better.

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Loch Dragon

AI Rating: 3.6
Pro Rating: 4.0

This card is pretty nice, a 4-mana 3/2 Flyer is always a playable card in Limited, though not exciting. Then, you add the fact that you get to rummage with it when it comes into play and when it attacks, and you’re looking at a card that can not only beat your opponent down in the sky, but you’re looking at one that can also help you drastically improve your draws throughout the game.

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Oakhame Ranger

AI Rating: 3.2
Pro Rating: 3.5

4 mana for two 1/1 Humans isn’t the most efficient thing in the world, but sometimes you need two bodies. Then, the creature side of the card synergizes well with going wide – which this helps you do, since it can pump your whole team by tapping. This is going to be a great card in decks really looking to go wide, but I don’t think it is so powerful you end up moving into GW just because you see this, and that holds it to a 3.5.

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Rampart Smasher

AI Rating: 3.7
Pro Rating: 3.0

This is mostly just a big vanilla creature, which is nice, but not overly exciting.

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Resolute Rider

AI Rating: 3.1
Pro Rating: 3.5

This has good activated abilities that make it very difficult to block. Most of the time, you’ll just be interested in threatening the activation, but being able to pump all the mana to make it indestructible and give it lifelink also isn’t a bad way to win a race.

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Thunderous Snapper

AI Rating: 2.5
Pro Rating: 3.0

What you get here is a 4-mana 4/4 who draws you cards for big spells. Now, most Limited decks aren’t loaded up with 5 mana spells – since that would be a really bad idea for your curve – BUT, even if you just draw a single card off of this, you’re going to be happy, since you already have a reasonably efficient creature.

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Clockwork Servant

AI Rating: 3.4
Pro Rating: 3.0

This will draw you a card pretty often, and while that’s ideal, you can also play it as a reasonably efficient creature.

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Crashing Drawbridge

AI Rating: 1.7
Pro Rating: 1.5

I never like walls that try to do aggressive things, and that’s what this is. You’ll play it in some aggro decks, but the fact that you’re playing a creature who can’t attack in your aggro deck is annoying.

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Enchanted Carriage

AI Rating: 3.3
Pro Rating: 2.0

This seems decent to me. It gets around one of the big downsides that vehicles have – and that’s that they aren’t very good on boards that don’t have much going on, because it needs to be crewed to actually do anything. The fact that this makes you a couple of creatures who can crew it all on their own is pretty nice. Now, you’re still not getting a great deal or anything on this – it is 5 mana for two 1/1s and a conditional 4/4.

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Gingerbrute

AI Rating: 2.9
Pro Rating: 2.5

A one mana 1/1 with Haste is usually not anything special, but this one can also make itself unblockable, which means it stays relevant late. It can also sacrifice to gain you life, and counts as Food. I think all of that makes this a reasonable inclusion in your deck, especially if you’re aggressive and have ways to make him bigger.

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Golden Egg

AI Rating: 3.1
Pro Rating: 1.5

So, we’ve seen cards a lot like this before, and they’re always alright. Mana filtering that replaces itself isn’t a bad thing to have a round, since it can help you splash, and you don’t end up using a whole card for it since it draws you one. If you don’t need the fixing during your game, it can also gain you life I guess, but that isn’t so good. Note also that it is technically “Food” so any cards that interact with Food tokens will make this better. I think this is an easy-to-cut last card in your deck.

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Henge Walker

AI Rating: 2
Pro Rating: 1.0

This won’t be a 3/3 often enough to be worth it in most decks, unless you’re close to monocolored.

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Heraldic Banner

AI Rating: 3.8
Pro Rating: 2.0

So, this is an alright mana rock. It does something most don’t do – it affects the board right away, and there is every possibility that playing this thing make syou have attacks available that just weren’t before. Now, it is sort of annoying you have to choose a color with it and stick with that forever, because that means it isn’t going to be the most reliable way to splash – but it can still get it done, there just may be times where you’re forced to name a non-splash color in your deck. Overall I think I like this – ramps, helps you splash, and gives you a minor boost on your board state.

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Inquisitive Puppet

AI Rating: 1.8
Pro Rating: 1.0

This has a lot of text, but doesn’t really do enough to be worth a card.

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Jousting Dummy

AI Rating: 1.6
Pro Rating: 2.0

Two mana 2/1s are barely playable these days, but this has a useful creature type and it can pump its power, which is enough to make it a reasonable inclusion in some decks.

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Locthwain Gargoyle

AI Rating: 1.2
Pro Rating: 1.0

A one mana 0/3 can block sort of decently in the early going, and this isn’t a terrible mana sink in the late game, when the Gargoyle can start threatening the opponent in the air. This format also has some artifact synergy going around, especially in UW, so having one of these in that deck seems fine. Still, I don’t think you play this unless you’re in desperation mode for early creature or artifacts.

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Lucky Clover

AI Rating: 4.3
Pro Rating: 0.0 // 3.5

This is an all-or-nothing kind of card. You have to end up with a ton of adventures to make it work, as just a few won’t make the card with it. However, when you do get enough Adventures, it can become an insane value engine.

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Prophet of the Peak

AI Rating: 1.5
Pro Rating: 1.5

This isn’t great, but if you need top curve, you could do worse.

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Roving Keep

AI Rating: 1
Pro Rating: 1.0

I mean, if you really need a finisher in your defensive control deck, I guess this does the job? You really need to find something better, though.

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Scalding Cauldron

AI Rating: 2.7
Pro Rating: 1.0

You’ll only play this if you have artifact synergies and/or you are short on removal. It just isn’t efficient at all.

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Shambling Suit

AI Rating: 3.8
Pro Rating: 2.5

There’s enough Food, artifacts, and Enchantments in this set that Shambling Suit often has enough power to be worth playing.

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Signpost Scarecrow

AI Rating: 0.9
Pro Rating: 2.0

This isn’t efficient as a creature or as mana fixing.

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Sorcerer's Broom

AI Rating: 3
Pro Rating: 2.0

This was designed to be a food payoff, and it is certainly that. I am not ultra impressed with it, but if in the late game it will be a sweet mana sink, where you can spend 5 mana – 2 for the food and 3 for this trigger – to gain 3 life and make a 2/1. The fact it has being a 2/1 as a fail case is nice, but the fact that its as expensive as it is keeps it from being some really exciting Food payoff for most decks, instead it will mostly be a 2/1 that might make a copy or two of itself late.

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Sorcerous Spyglass

AI Rating: 3.4
Pro Rating: 0.0

This is unplayable in Limited. It isn’t generally going to be worth a card to look at your opponent’s hand, and there isn’t a huge chance that you’ll actually name something that has a problematic activated ability. Most of the time, you’re paying 2 and using up a card for information, which you don’t want to be doing.

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Spinning Wheel

AI Rating: 2.3
Pro Rating: 3.5

Having a card that helps you fix your mana and ramp that can ALSO do something in the game once that stuff doesn’t really matter is pretty nice. It is no Icy Manipulator, since 5 mana is a ton -- but you could do worse for a mana sink, and it is certainly an effect that your opponent has to respect every turn -- well, provided you have the mana to do it, at least.

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Stonecoil Serpent

AI Rating: 4.9
Pro Rating: 4.0

We have seen several cards like this over the years – Endless One and Ugin’s Construct being the most recent – and this one blows both of those out of the water. Those others were just X-mana for an X/X – Ugin’s Construct even came with a downside! This is just all upside. And other X/Xs we’ve seen like this have all been pretty good, so this is obviously even better! Creatures like this are good because they are reasonably efficient for you everywhere on the curve, and they get to remain relevant all game long, because if you top deck it late it will be huge. The keyword abilities it has are all good too. Trample is the most exciting one, as it means this guy can’t be chump blocked forever like some big boys. Protection from multicolored will come up some in the format too, and if you have to be on defense, he can even block flyers thanks to Reach!

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Weapon Rack

AI Rating: 1.3
Pro Rating: 1.0

You might think this isn’t bad in an aggro deck, as it ends up making your creatures better attackers, but if you played it instead of playing a creature, you’re also hurting your chances as an aggro deck.

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Witch's Oven

AI Rating: 3.8
Pro Rating: 2.5

This isn’t a bad outlet to get food with, and it combos quite nicely with some cards in the set, like Cauldron Familiar!

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Castle Ardenvale

AI Rating: 4.7
Pro Rating: 3.5

This Castle will produce mana for you early like all lands do, but then late it will take on a more major role in the game, giving you something to do with 4 of your mana every turn no matter what. Being able to make a creature token every turn late is certainly going to add up.

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Castle Embereth

AI Rating: 4.7
Pro Rating: 3.5

So, an upgraded Mountain is pretty nice. Something that can just produce mana when you need it, and then be a place to put mana late feels pretty nice. It is also an effect that can sneak in lethal or really mess with combat.

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Castle Garenbrig

AI Rating: 3.8
Pro Rating: 3.0

This is basically a forest with big upside, and that’s always nice. It can help you ramp a little bit, and that’s always welcome in a Green deck! Sometimes people underrate just how good non-basic lands that can actually do stuff later in the game are – turns out, upgrading one of your lands from Forest to something like this Castle is a pretty big deal! This one helps you ramp, which is nice.

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Castle Locthwain

AI Rating: 4.7
Pro Rating: 3.5

Like all of the Castles, it is a decent land to have early, but in the late game it does something very useful – drawing cards for 3 mana is awesome. And sure, you might lose life, but the ideal time to use this will be when you’re in top deck mode anyway, so basically this land is Phyrexian Arena. Yes, that’s an exaggeration, but I think an apt comparison of how good this card is.

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Castle Vantress

AI Rating: 4.5
Pro Rating: 3.5

Having a land that is just a regular old land early, producing you mana and so forth – is nice, especially when in the late game you have this nice mana sink, which will ensure that you draw really well, because Scry 2 is no joke!

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Dwarven Mine

AI Rating: 1.4
Pro Rating: 2.0

If your deck has 10+ Mountains in it, you’ll run this for the upside of getting a 1/1 token.

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Fabled Passage

AI Rating: 4.7
Pro Rating: 3.0

This provides great fixing, even if you’re just two colors, and that shouldn’t be underestimated.

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Gingerbread Cabin

AI Rating: 2.2
Pro Rating: 2.5

If your deck has 10+ Forests in it, you’ll run this for the upside of getting Food, which might actually synergize more broadly with your deck.

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Idyllic Grange

AI Rating: 1.6
Pro Rating: 2.0

If your deck has 10+ Plains it, you’ll run this for the upside of getting a +1/+1 counter.

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Mystic Sanctuary

AI Rating: 2.1
Pro Rating: 2.5

If your deck has 10+ Islands in it, you’ll run this so that you can put removal back on top of your library.

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Tournament Grounds

AI Rating: 1.5
Pro Rating: 1.0

This is alright fixing in the Knight decks, but those decks often have enough cards that this can’t pay for, and you’ll find yourself not even running it in those decks most of the time.

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Witch's Cottage

AI Rating: 1.9
Pro Rating: 2.5

If your deck has 10+ Swamps, you’ll run this so you can get back powerful creatures from your graveyard.

Card Pro Rating AI Rating APA Picked ALSA Seen
ss-rare|White|Creature — Human Knight
3.0 4.6 1.95 42 1.68 82
ss-uncommon|White|Enchantment — Aura
1.0 3.2 5.93 15 5.68 96
ss-uncommon|White|Creature — Archon
3.5 4.1 2.98 160 2.70 344
ss-common text-light|White|Creature — Human Knight
2.0 1.5 10.69 26 8.22 296
ss-common text-light|White|Creature — Human Knight
3.0 3.7 4.78 27 4.19 154
ss-common text-light|White|Creature — Ox
1.0 0.9 12.54 24 10.15 385
ss-common text-light|White|Creature — Human Noble
1.5 1.4 10.97 35 9.15 292
ss-rare|White|Creature — Human Noble
3.5 4.7 1.59 49 1.58 92
ss-mythic|White|Legendary Artifact
4.0 -0 15.00 0 2.00 2
ss-uncommon|White|Enchantment
0.0. 1.5 10.83 12 8.76 137
ss-common text-light|White|Creature — Faerie
3.5 3.2 6.06 35 6.07 206
ss-common text-light|White|Creature — Fox
3.0 2.9 6.94 48 7.31 250
ss-common text-light|White|Enchantment
1.0 1.1 11.85 26 9.42 305
ss-rare|White|Creature — Human Peasant
4.0 4.1 3.56 9 2.68 20
ss-uncommon|White|Artifact
3.5 3.9 3.61 144 3.00 399
ss-rare|White|Enchantment
0.0 4.1 3.00 12 2.61 124
ss-mythic|White|Creature — Archon
4.5 4.6 2.00 2 1.67 3
ss-rare|White|Creature — Faerie
2.5 4.5 2.07 28 1.78 86
ss-common text-light|White|Creature — Human Knight
1.0 1.2 11.56 16 8.89 306
ss-rare|White|Legendary Creature — Human Noble
3.0 4.7 1.70 40 1.71 85
ss-common text-light|White|Creature — Unicorn
3.0 2.6 7.59 27 6.87 243
ss-uncommon|White|Creature — Faerie
3.5 3.8 3.75 177 3.45 520
ss-common text-light|White|Instant
2.5 2.4 8.35 31 7.86 250
ss-common text-light|White|Creature — Griffin
2.5 1.8 9.91 32 8.15 323
ss-uncommon|White|Instant
2.5 1.9 9.55 11 7.09 103
ss-mythic|White|Creature — Giant
5.0 4.8 1.50 4 1.38 8
ss-uncommon|White|Instant
0.5 2.1 9.12 8 7.25 115
ss-uncommon|White|Creature — Human Peasant
3.0 3.7 4.62 13 4.88 73
ss-common text-light|White|Artifact — Equipment
1.5 0.9 12.48 21 9.42 299
ss-common text-light|White|Sorcery
1.5 1.8 9.85 33 8.36 302
ss-common text-light|White|Creature — Human Soldier
3.5 2.4 8.41 29 6.41 211
ss-uncommon|White|Legendary Creature — Human Knight
4.0 4.4 2.33 130 2.19 320
ss-common text-light|White|Enchantment — Aura
4.0 3.4 5.45 42 5.00 163
ss-common text-light|White|Instant
1.0 1.4 11.12 25 9.29 342
ss-uncommon|White|Creature — Human Knight
2.5 3.2 5.24 108 4.03 554
ss-rare|White|Creature — Human Knight
4.0 4.7 1.58 48 1.49 80
ss-common text-light|White|Creature — Human Knight
3.0 3.3 5.78 23 5.84 210
ss-uncommon|Blue|Creature — Faerie
3.5 3.2 6.13 15 5.51 73
ss-mythic|Blue|Creature — Faerie Rogue
4.0 5 1.00 3 1.29 7
ss-common text-light|Blue|Enchantment — Aura
3.0 3.1 6.38 34 5.83 195
ss-common text-light|Blue|Artifact Creature — Construct
1.5 1.8 10.03 38 9.03 332
ss-common text-light|Blue|Instant
1.5 2.9 6.87 47 6.18 211
ss-rare|Blue|Legendary Creature — Merfolk Wizard
0.0 // 3.0 4.6 2.00 23 1.68 82
ss-rare|Blue|Creature — Faerie Wizard
2.5 4.7 1.58 19 1.57 63
ss-uncommon|Blue|Creature — Faerie Rogue
3.0 3.9 3.43 46 2.90 342
ss-rare|Blue|Artifact
3.5 4.8 1.38 16 1.46 70
ss-uncommon|Blue|Enchantment — Aura
2.5 2.8 7.08 13 5.29 74
ss-rare|Blue|Legendary Creature — Human Wizard
4.0 4.2 3.12 8 3.00 10
ss-uncommon|Blue|Creature — Faerie
3.5 3.9 3.46 46 2.82 380
ss-uncommon|Blue|Instant
1.0 // 3.0 3.1 5.49 77 4.83 670
ss-mythic|Blue|Legendary Artifact
2.0 1.1 12.00 1 4.22 10
ss-common text-light|Blue|Artifact — Equipment
1.0 1 12.30 20 9.77 326
ss-common text-light|Blue|Creature — Merfolk Wizard
3.0 3.3 5.76 38 5.37 167
ss-rare|Blue|Artifact
3.0 4.9 1.33 18 1.32 61
ss-rare|Blue|Enchantment
2.5 4.5 2.13 23 1.78 94
ss-common text-light|Blue|Creature — Turtle
1.0 1.1 11.79 33 10.31 392
ss-common text-light|Blue|Creature — Merfolk Rogue
2.5 2.2 8.88 48 8.09 279
ss-uncommon|Blue|Instant
1.5 2.2 8.87 15 7.20 102
ss-common text-light|Blue|Instant
2.0 2.5 8.03 30 7.34 248
ss-uncommon|Blue|Creature — Human Wizard
2.5 3.3 5.00 36 3.54 496
ss-common text-light|Blue|Creature — Human Noble Wizard
2.5 2.8 7.07 43 6.20 228
ss-common text-light|Blue|Instant
1.0 2.3 8.46 39 7.85 298
ss-uncommon|Blue|Creature — Merfolk Wizard
3.0 2.9 6.76 17 5.43 65
ss-common text-light|Blue|Enchantment — Aura
1.0 // 2.5 2.5 7.96 45 8.16 308
ss-common text-light|Blue|Creature — Griffin
2.0 1.2 11.63 35 9.09 294
ss-rare|Blue|Sorcery
4.5 4.8 1.56 9 2.71 15
ss-uncommon|Blue|Legendary Creature — Human Knight
2.5 4.2 2.76 33 2.42 303
ss-common text-light|Blue|Creature — Faerie
2.5 3 6.55 47 6.10 185
ss-uncommon|Blue|Instant
3.0 3.9 3.59 51 2.93 427
ss-common text-light|Blue|Sorcery
2.0 2.3 8.55 33 8.01 258
ss-rare|Blue|Artifact Creature — Gargoyle
3.5 4.8 1.40 25 1.41 64
ss-common text-light|Blue|Creature — Human Knight
2.5 2.2 8.79 43 7.89 290
ss-common text-light|Blue|Creature — Merfolk
2.0 1.4 11.15 34 9.82 350
ss-common text-light|Blue|Artifact
2.0 2.7 7.45 33 6.90 249
ss-rare|Black|Legendary Creature — Elf Noble
3.5 3.9 4.00 5 2.67 12
ss-common text-light|Black|Instant
4.0 4.1 3.65 37 3.15 106
ss-common text-light|Black|Creature — Human Warlock
1.5 1.9 9.69 35 8.23 325
ss-uncommon|Black|Creature — Human Knight
3.5 4.2 2.95 75 2.68 340
ss-rare|Black|Creature — Human Knight
3.5 4.3 3.00 5 2.00 11
ss-uncommon|Black|Creature — Faerie
3.5 4.1 3.09 54 2.43 310
ss-uncommon|Black|Creature — Cat
0.0 // 2.5 3.2 5.92 12 4.45 65
ss-mythic|Black|Legendary Artifact
0.0 4.6 2.00 1 1.67 3
ss-uncommon|Black|Sorcery
2.0 1.8 10.00 6 6.04 81
ss-rare|Black|Creature — Troll
4.0 4.6 2.25 4 2.50 6
ss-uncommon|Black|Sorcery
4.0 4.4 2.38 69 2.01 259
ss-common text-light|Black|Creature — Faerie
1.5 2 9.50 28 8.85 294
ss-common text-light|Black|Instant
2.0 1.8 10.09 32 9.15 355
ss-common text-light|Black|Sorcery
2.0 2.5 8.12 24 7.49 277
ss-common text-light|Black|Sorcery
2.0 2.4 8.38 32 7.18 264
ss-uncommon|Black|Creature — Zombie Knight
3.5 4.3 2.66 77 2.34 305
ss-common text-light|Black|Artifact — Equipment
2.0 1.9 9.60 20 8.83 298
ss-common text-light|Black|Instant
1.0 1.6 10.54 24 8.68 330
ss-common text-light|Black|Creature — Human Knight
2.0 2.4 8.40 20 7.12 246
ss-common text-light|Black|Creature — Spirit Knight
2.5 2.7 7.53 32 6.67 224
ss-common text-light|Black|Creature — Human Noble
2.5 1.7 10.24 46 8.39 316
ss-common text-light|Black|Sorcery
1.0 1.4 11.16 37 9.69 394
ss-rare|Black|Creature — Zombie Knight
4.5 5 1.11 46 1.15 64
ss-rare|Black|Creature — Human Knight
3.5 4.8 1.49 39 1.66 76
ss-uncommon|Black|Creature — Human Knight
4.0 4.4 2.33 81 2.04 269
ss-rare|Black|Creature — Human Warlock
4.0 4.2 3.33 6 2.78 9
ss-mythic|Black|Legendary Creature — Faerie Rogue
4.5 4.9 1.25 4 1.40 5
ss-common text-light|Black|Creature — Specter
2.0 2.6 7.77 31 6.33 228
ss-common text-light|Black|Sorcery
3.0 3.6 4.89 38 4.58 146
ss-uncommon|Black|Enchantment
2.5 4.2 2.78 72 2.45 318
ss-common text-light|Black|Creature — Human Knight
2.5 3.4 5.57 23 4.74 165
ss-uncommon|Black|Sorcery
0.5 2 9.50 10 7.96 117
ss-uncommon|Black|Legendary Creature — Human Knight
4.0 4.6 2.00 1 8.00 3
ss-common text-light|Black|Creature — Human Warlock
2.5 2.7 7.32 25 6.46 241
ss-common text-light|Black|Creature — Human Noble
2.0 2.4 8.20 35 7.20 246
ss-rare|Black|Artifact
0.0 4.7 1.75 8 1.69 80
ss-rare|Black|Sorcery
3.0 4.9 1.17 24 1.23 63
ss-common text-light|Red|Instant
2.0 2.1 9.24 37 9.08 313
ss-common text-light|Red|Creature — Wolverine
2.5 1.4 11.03 32 8.72 309
ss-common text-light|Red|Sorcery
1.0 1.4 11.14 29 9.71 365
ss-rare|Red|Creature — Giant
4.0 4.9 1.16 50 1.17 65
ss-common text-light|Red|Artifact Creature — Wall
2.5 2.8 7.21 29 6.87 228
ss-uncommon|Red|Creature — Human Knight
3.0 3.4 5.38 8 4.98 73
ss-uncommon|Red|Sorcery
0.5 2.8 7.30 10 6.85 134
ss-common text-light|Red|Artifact — Equipment
1.5 1.1 11.95 22 9.79 357
ss-mythic|Red|Legendary Artifact — Equipment
5.0 4.1 3.50 4 3.20 5
ss-common text-light|Red|Creature — Human Knight
1.5 1.9 9.77 26 8.15 307
ss-uncommon|Red|Creature — Human Knight
3.0 3.5 5.16 19 4.40 61
ss-uncommon|Red|Enchantment
1.0 2.1 9.21 19 6.94 95
ss-rare|Red|Creature — Human Knight
2.5 4.5 2.10 41 1.96 78
ss-rare|Red|Enchantment
0.0 4.5 2.08 13 1.67 77
ss-common text-light|Red|Instant
1.5 1.5 10.90 31 8.79 313
ss-rare|Red|Sorcery
0.0 4.4 2.45 11 2.13 89
ss-rare|Red|Creature — Human Wizard
3.5 4.2 3.22 9 3.31 16
ss-uncommon|Red|Sorcery
2.5 4 3.92 12 4.40 67
ss-uncommon|Red|Creature — Goblin
0.0 // 3.0 2.9 6.92 12 5.47 88
ss-common text-light|Red|Creature — Human Peasant
2.0 2.6 7.80 30 6.77 253
ss-common text-light|Red|Creature — Ogre Knight
2.0 2.2 8.83 41 8.37 295
ss-rare|Red|Creature — Dragon
4.5 4.1 3.40 5 2.70 10
ss-common text-light|Red|Creature — Goblin Knight
2.0 2.5 8.00 32 7.36 258
ss-uncommon|Red|Instant
3.5 3.5 5.23 22 5.53 92
ss-common text-light|Red|Creature — Goblin Warrior
2.5 2.2 8.77 39 7.68 267
ss-common text-light|Red|Creature — Dwarf Knight
3.0 3.5 5.26 50 5.61 193
ss-mythic|Red|Creature — Human Archer Rogue
3.5 4.9 1.33 3 1.20 5
ss-common text-light|Red|Instant
4.0 4 3.85 47 3.38 116
ss-common text-light|Red|Instant
2.5 2.9 6.84 38 6.46 218
ss-common text-light|Red|Creature — Dwarf
1.0 // 2.5 2.6 7.71 41 7.36 254
ss-uncommon|Red|Creature — Ogre
1.0 1.5 10.80 5 7.47 110
ss-uncommon|Red|Instant
4.0 4.3 2.59 150 2.47 364
ss-rare|Red|Sorcery
2.5 // 4.5 4.9 1.31 26 1.40 63
ss-uncommon|Red|Legendary Creature — Human Knight
3.5 4.2 2.87 117 2.60 325
ss-common text-light|Red|Instant
2.0 1.8 9.84 31 8.61 326
ss-rare|Red|Legendary Creature — Dwarf Noble
4.0 4.9 1.33 58 1.30 73
ss-common text-light|Red|Creature — Goblin Knight
1.5 2.3 8.44 34 7.63 250
ss-uncommon|Green|Creature — Giant
4.0 4.3 2.71 129 2.43 299
ss-common text-light|Green|Creature — Human Peasant
2.5 3.1 6.33 18 6.30 194
ss-uncommon|Green|Creature — Human Peasant
1.0 // 4.0 4 3.23 163 2.95 456
ss-rare|Green|Creature — Troll Noble
4.0 4.9 1.17 6 1.50 8
ss-common text-light|Green|Instant
0.5 1 12.18 33 10.31 382
ss-common text-light|Green|Creature — Wolf
3.5 4 3.73 41 3.73 133
ss-uncommon|Green|Creature — Human Berserker
1.5 2.1 9.14 7 4.89 66
ss-common text-light|Green|Creature — Human Warrior
3.5 3.1 6.32 34 6.18 212
ss-common text-light|Green|Creature — Giant Knight
2.0 2.7 7.41 39 6.37 238
ss-common text-light|Green|Creature — Human Soldier
2.0 2.1 9.06 17 8.17 265
ss-uncommon|Green|Sorcery
2.0 3.4 5.57 7 5.33 68
ss-rare|Green|Creature — Bird
4.0 4.7 1.83 6 1.67 9
ss-mythic|Green|Legendary Artifact
5.0 5 1.00 2 1.00 3
ss-common text-light|Green|Instant
0.5 1.7 10.29 24 8.84 292
ss-uncommon|Green|Creature — Cat
4.0 4.4 2.28 107 2.22 293
ss-uncommon|Green|Enchantment — Aura
3.0 2.9 5.78 174 4.90 715
ss-rare|Green|Creature — Beast Noble
3.5 4.9 1.18 50 1.15 66
ss-common text-light|Green|Creature — Elf Knight
2.0 2.5 8.00 40 7.24 232
ss-uncommon|Green|Creature — Elf Warrior
2.5 4 3.29 123 2.69 373
ss-uncommon|Green|Instant
1.5 2.8 7.29 14 5.80 81
ss-rare|Green|Instant
2.0 4.6 1.95 38 1.87 96
ss-common text-light|Green|Sorcery
3.0 3.7 4.51 35 4.40 164
ss-mythic|Green|Legendary Creature — Beast
4.0 5 1.00 3 1.20 5
ss-rare|Green|Instant
3.0 4.7 1.62 26 1.40 63
ss-common text-light|Green|Instant
1.5 1.3 11.25 20 8.97 391
ss-common text-light|Green|Creature — Elf Druid
2.5 3.5 5.17 29 5.40 187
ss-common text-light|Green|Artifact — Equipment
2.0 1.8 10.09 23 8.91 322
ss-common text-light|Green|Creature — Spider
1.5 1.5 10.81 16 8.83 326
ss-uncommon|Green|Legendary Creature — Human Knight
3.0 4 3.32 85 2.77 332
ss-common text-light|Green|Enchantment — Aura
0.0 1.2 11.68 22 9.62 323
ss-uncommon|Green|Enchantment
0.0 4.1 3.05 84 2.80 407
ss-common text-light|Green|Creature — Treefolk Druid
2.5 3.1 6.32 19 6.51 212
ss-rare|Green|Creature — Wolf
4.5 4.9 1.29 52 1.39 70
ss-rare|Green|Creature — Elf Archer
4.0 4.9 1.24 59 1.24 80
ss-common text-light|Green|Creature — Elf Warrior
2.0 1.8 10.09 23 8.97 294
ss-common text-light|Green|Sorcery
0.5 1.3 11.39 23 9.58 344
ss-rare|Green|Legendary Creature — Giant Noble
3.5 4.5 2.33 3 3.00 11
ss-rare|White|Blue|Sorcery
1.0 3.9 3.53 15 2.23 90
ss-rare|White|Black|Enchantment
2.5 4.6 1.88 24 1.73 81
ss-uncommon|Blue|Black|Instant
2.5 3.2 6.07 14 4.63 62
ss-rare|Red|Green|Sorcery
3.0 4.6 2.00 5 3.42 20
ss-rare|White|Green|Creature — Treefolk Druid
3.5 4.7 1.63 30 1.61 82
ss-mythic|Black|Green|Legendary Planeswalker — Garruk
5.0 4.9 1.25 4 1.25 4
ss-uncommon|Red|Green|Legendary Creature — Goblin Shaman
4.0 3.8 4.27 11 4.55 66
ss-uncommon|Blue|Red|Enchantment
3.5 3.5 4.45 76 4.24 623
ss-uncommon|White|Red|Creature — Human Knight
3.0 3.8 3.82 135 3.91 553
ss-rare|Blue|Black|Creature — Serpent
5.0 5 1.00 45 1.00 63
ss-uncommon|Blue|Green|Creature — Faerie
3.5 3 6.50 12 5.45 81
ss-mythic|Blue|Green|Legendary Planeswalker — Oko
4.5 4.8 1.50 2 1.50 2
ss-mythic|White|Red|Enchantment
4.5 4.8 1.50 2 3.17 6
ss-mythic|Blue|Red|Legendary Planeswalker — Will Rowan
3.5 4.9 1.33 3 1.25 4
ss-uncommon|Black|Green|Creature — Human Warrior
3.5 4.2 2.86 90 2.61 352
ss-uncommon|White|Blue|Creature — Faerie
3.0 3 6.58 19 6.59 96
ss-uncommon|Black|Red|Artifact — Equipment
3.0 2.7 7.42 12 5.62 88
ss-rare|Black|Red|Creature — Human Knight
2.5 4.7 1.60 20 1.72 69
ss-uncommon|White|Green|Creature — Horse
3.5 2.6 7.69 13 5.64 72
ss-uncommon|White|Black|Creature — Human Knight
3.5 3 6.60 5 4.72 64
ss-uncommon|White|Blue|Artifact Creature — Bird
3.5 4.2 2.92 50 2.66 353
ss-uncommon|Blue|Black|Sorcery
3.0 3.6 5.00 18 4.04 63
ss-uncommon|Black|Green|Creature — Skeleton Knight
4.0 4 3.32 131 3.04 432
ss-uncommon|Black|Red|Creature — Human Knight
2.5 3.3 5.77 13 5.05 63
ss-uncommon|White|Red|Creature — Human Knight
3.0 3.6 4.27 216 4.10 649
ss-uncommon|Blue|Red|Creature — Dragon
4.0 3.6 4.27 125 4.12 600
ss-uncommon|Green|Creature — Elf Knight
3.5 3.2 5.15 129 4.36 624
ss-uncommon|Red|Green|Creature — Giant
3.0 3.7 4.67 9 4.16 63
ss-uncommon|White|Black|Creature — Human Knight
3.5 3.1 6.27 11 4.11 63
ss-uncommon|Blue|Green|Creature — Turtle Hydra
3.0 2.5 8.00 15 5.20 77
ss-uncommon||Artifact Creature — Gnome
3.0 3.4 4.62 190 3.90 598
ss-common text-light||Artifact Creature — Wall
1.5 1.7 10.25 24 8.45 324
ss-uncommon||Artifact — Vehicle
2.0 3.3 4.92 97 4.05 560
ss-common text-light||Artifact Creature — Food Golem
2.5 2.9 6.83 35 6.40 201
ss-common text-light||Artifact — Food
1.5 3.1 6.42 33 5.52 202
ss-common text-light||Artifact Creature — Golem
1.0 2 9.41 27 7.63 277
ss-uncommon||Artifact
2.0 3.8 3.87 158 3.28 454
ss-uncommon||Artifact Creature — Construct
1.0 1.8 10.00 5 7.38 106
ss-common text-light||Artifact Creature — Scarecrow Knight
2.0 1.6 10.39 36 8.72 338
ss-common text-light||Artifact Creature — Gargoyle
1.0 1.2 11.77 35 10.17 387
ss-uncommon||Artifact
0.0 // 3.5 4.3 2.68 56 2.16 283
ss-common text-light||Artifact Creature — Cat
1.5 1.5 10.73 30 8.98 334
ss-common text-light||Artifact Creature — Wall
1.0 1 12.29 28 10.15 389
ss-common text-light||Artifact
1.0 2.7 7.56 34 6.86 255
ss-uncommon||Artifact Creature — Construct
2.5 3.8 4.40 5 5.28 79
ss-common text-light||Artifact Creature — Scarecrow
2.0 0.9 12.57 21 9.67 337
ss-uncommon||Artifact Creature — Spirit
2.0 3 6.55 11 5.90 93
ss-rare||Artifact
0.0 3.4 5.50 2 5.45 37
ss-uncommon||Artifact
3.5 2.3 8.50 14 5.31 75
ss-rare||Artifact Creature — Snake
4.0 4.9 1.40 5 1.29 7
ss-common text-light||Artifact
1.0 1.3 11.40 20 8.82 290
ss-uncommon||Artifact
2.5 3.8 4.33 12 3.63 67
ss-rare||Land
3.5 4.7 1.65 43 1.49 86
ss-rare||Land
3.5 4.7 1.77 35 1.63 79
ss-rare||Land
3.0 3.8 4.25 4 3.06 18
ss-rare||Land
3.5 4.7 1.68 31 1.54 66
ss-rare||Land
3.5 4.5 2.33 6 2.73 24
ss-common text-light||Land — Mountain
2.0 1.4 11.11 36 9.12 337
ss-rare||Land
3.0 4.7 1.88 8 2.00 15
ss-common text-light||Land — Forest
2.5 2.2 8.88 26 7.64 304
ss-common text-light||Land — Plains
2.0 1.6 10.48 23 8.91 309
ss-common text-light||Land — Island
2.5 2.1 9.07 30 8.72 290
ss-uncommon||Land
1.0 1.5 10.67 6 6.07 95
ss-common text-light||Land — Swamp
2.5 1.9 9.79 29 7.93 258
Pro - Ratings by Nizzahon Magic AI - A.I. ratings APA - AvgPickedAt ALSA - AvgLastSeenAt

About Limited Ratings

  • 5.0 The absolute best you can get.
  • 4.5 Incredible bomb, but not unbeatable.
  • 4.0 Good rare or top-tier uncommon.
  • 3.5 Top-tier common or solid uncommon.
  • 3.0 Good playable that always make the cut.
  • 2.5 A solid playable that rarely gets cut.
  • 2.0 A good playable, but is sometimes cut.
  • 1.5 Filler card but sometimes gets cut.
  • 1.0 Not good filler and often gets gut.
  • 0.5 Almost Unplayable and mostly sideboard material.
  • 0.0 Not playable at all.

AI Limited ratings are gathered with data from MTGA Assistant, while Nizzahon Magic provides the Pro ratings. The key difference is that the Pro ratings and comments are made before the set officially releases, while the AI ratings dynamically update with new data. It would be best to use the Pro ratings as guidance as sets are released and the AI Ratings a couple of weeks after release. Here is an explanation of how we score the cards:

Color Rating Breakdown
Cards Rated over 3.0